Johnson overwhelms field of greats in Match Play
You don’t mess with Texas. AUSTIN Tangling with Dustin Johnson isn’t wise, either.
The world No. 1 beat up Austin Country Club and handled seven opponents en route to winning the World Golf Championships- Dell Technologies Match Play. He capped his week by winning two tight tussles Sunday, digging deep to beat Hideto Tanihara 1 up in the semifinals and then rookie Jon Rahm 1 up in the final on a sun-drenched Sunday by the Colorado River.
“I’m playing pretty well,” said Johnson, a man of few words who has become an overpowering presence with his length, iron play and putter. “Today was a tough day, a really
long day. I’m proud of the way I played.
“Obviously, I’ve got a lot of confidence in my game.”
For more than a year, everything has been working for Johnson, who has six wins — including last year’s U.S. Open — two seconds, two thirds and four other top-10 finishes in his last 18 starts worldwide. In the Lone Star State, his firepower was so assertive he didn’t trail in any match (he played 112 holes), won the first hole six of seven times and reached the 18th hole just twice all week. And the few times his matches got tight, Johnson kept his opponent at bay. He was 4 up with six to play but wasn’t unnerved when Rahm won three of the next four holes, closing out with a par on the final hole.
“It’s amazing how he’s able to keep cool the entire round,” said Rahm, who beat Bill Haas 3 and 2 in the semifinals. “He’s just a perfect, complete player.”
Besides beating Rahm and Tanihara, Johnson topped major champions Webb Simpson, Martin Kaymer, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson. He also beat Alex Noren in the Round of 16.
The win was Johnson’s second in a row in a WGC event — he won the Mexico Championship three weeks ago — and his third in the last four played. He also became the first player to win all four WGC tournaments. In all, he has five WGC titles; only Tiger Woods, with 18, has more.
The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year also became the first player to win three consecutive starts on the PGA Tour since Rory McIlroy accomplished the feat in 2014. And he joined Greg Norman and Vijay Singh, a couple of members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, as the only players to win their first two events after becoming No. 1 in the world.
At this week’s Shell Houston Open, Johnson, 32, who has 15 Tour titles, will try to become the first player to win four consecutive starts since Woods won his last two events in 2007 and his first three in 2008.
Next week, Johnson will be one of the favorites at the Masters, where he finished in ties for sixth and fourth the last two years.
“It’s impossible to win every week. I’m just going to keep working hard, just keep trying to get better,” Johnson said. “Being No. 1 drives me to get better, and I can get better.”
Rahm, 22, who won the Farmers Insurance Open, was trying to become the youngest to win a WGC event. He rolled through his first six matches — losing only eight holes and trailing for three — before running into Johnson. In the Mexico Championship, Rahm led late on Sunday before being overtaken by Johnson. Rahm took to Twitter to congratulate Johnson and hoped he’d get a rematch at Augusta. His wish came two weeks early. Exacting revenge will have to wait.
“I confirmed what I already thought, that I belong here. I’m just 22. It’s my rookie season. And I’m just blessed and glad and happy, and I don’t know many more adjectives to describe how positive I feel that I had the chance today to win,” said Rahm, who will move to No. 14 in the world. “Unfortunately for me, I had the hottest player on earth. I’m not going to win them all, but I’m certainly giving myself opportunities.”
Haas won the consolation match 2 and 1 despite Tanihara making a hole-in-one on the seventh hole. Tanihara had quite a week in his WGC debut: On Saturday he earned an invitation to the Masters with his two wins to reach the semifinals.