Johnson goes to No. 1 with big win at Riviera
LOS ANGELES - Dustin Johnson went to No. 1 in the world with a world-class performance at Riviera.
Johnson turned a marathon finish into a Sunday stroll in the Genesis Open. He finished the third round in the morning with a 7-under 64 to build a five-shot lead, stretched it to nine shots at one point in the final round and coasted home to a 71 and a five-shot victory.
“It sounds good,” Johnson said when asked about being the top player in the world. “I played really great all day. I couldn’t have driven it any better. That was a big key.”
Johnson became the 20th player to reach No. 1 since the world ranking began in 1986, ending Jason Day’s 47-week stay at the top.
“He deserves it because he’s been playing great golf,” Day said.
Johnson won for the fourth time against some of golf’s strongest fields dating to his U.S. Open victory last summer. All he cared about Sunday was winning at Riviera, one of his favorite courses where he has had chances in four of the last five years. There was no doubt this time. Johnson had a one-shot lead when he arrived Sunday at Riviera, which lost 10 hours the previous three days to fog and torrential rain. Johnson had such command of his game that his longest par putt in the third round was from 4 feet, and he closed with three straight birdies to make the final round in the afternoon more of a coronation.
Johnson went 49 straight holes without a bogey, a streak that ended on No. 9 in the final round, and he was sloppy down the stretch when it no longer mattered.
It capped off a strong stretch that elevated Johnson to the top. Not only was it his fourth victory since June, he has finished among the top three in eight of his last 16 tournaments.
“No surprise to us players, and I don’t think too much surprise to many others,” Jordan Spieth said. Spieth ended his streak of 19 consecutive rounds under par on the PGA Tour — and 27 rounds worldwide — with a 72 in the third round.
Women’s Australian Open
ADELAIDE, Australia - Ha Na Jang had an eagle and three birdies over her last six holes in a superb finish that set up a three-shot victory in the Women’s Australian Open.
“It’s a really good, strong finish. That is why it’s good sport today,” the South Korean said after closing with a 4-under 69 to finish at 10 under at Royal Adelaide.
NAPLES, Fla. - Fred Couples won the Chubb Classic for his 12th PGA Tour Champions title and first since 2014, rallying to beat Miguel Angel Jimenez at TwinEagles.
The 57-year-old Couples shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 to finish at 16-under 200 on the Talon Course, three strokes ahead of secondround leader Jimenez.
World Super 6
PERTH, Australia - Brett Rumford beat Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand 2 and 1 in the final round of match play to claim the first World Super 6 tournament title near where he grew up.