DJ seizes the Day to reach summit
COMPREHENSIVE VICTORY PAVES THE WAY
Dustin Johnson made the complicated world golf ranking calculations simple on Sunday, vaulting to No 1 with a convincing victory in the Genesis Open.
“I don’t really understand it,” the American said of the math involved in determining the game’s top player “but I can read the ‘onetwo-three’. I guess that’s all that matters.”
All week at Riviera Country Club, Johnson shied away from talk of ending Jason Day’s 47week run atop the rankings – a possibility that also depended on where the Australian finished.
“I was coming in here to put myself in a position to win and I did that – and I played really well,” said Johnson, who led by as many as nine strokes on Sunday en route to a five-shot victory with a 17-under par total of 267.
“If I get to No 1 winning the golf tournament, then obviously that’s even a bonus.”
After a heartbreaking history of near-misses in Major championships, Johnson broke through at the US Open at Oakmont last year. His victory on Sunday was his fourth since June.
“Obviously winning the US Open in the summer kind of gave me a little bit of a boost with confidence with my game,” he said. “It was big for me ... to finally win one.
“Today kind of felt a lot like how I was playing this past summer, finally getting back to where I was, driving it really well.” – AFP
Dustin Johnson became the sixth American to hold the No 1 ranking and the first since Jordan Spieth. In total, Spieth (26), Fred Couples (16), David Duval (15), Tom Lehman (1) and Johnson (1) have a combined 59 weeks at the top compared to compatriot Tiger Woods’ record of 683.