A near ace and a big victory for Johnson
kapalua — Dustin Johnson hit one of the best shots he never saw. Not all of it, anyway.
The Sentry Tournament of Champions had reached that stage where all that was left to decide was the margin by which Johnson would win. He had a two-shot lead to start the final round at Kapalua, stretched to six shots at the turn and was leading by five when he reached the 343-yard 12th hole, where the final 120 yards are down the a steep hill with the Pacific Ocean on the horizon.
That’s where Johnson delivered the signature moment in the first PGA Tour event of the new year.
He knew his drive was good when he hit it. What he missed was the ball catching the right bounce to feed it onto the green, and then rolling straight toward the pin until it stopped just inches away from a hole-in-one.
“I could see it until it landed, but I knew it was on a good line,” he said. “I know exactly where I want it to come down out of the air, and it did. So I knew it was going to be pretty good. I just didn’t think I was going to have a tap-in.”
When informed how close it was by Golf Channel reporter Jim “Bones” Mackay, Johnson told him he caught it a little thin. He was joking. The way he played the Plantation Course, it was hard to tell. Johnson made up for his last PGA Tour event — the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where he tied the worst kind of record by losing a six-shot lead — by turning the Tournament of Champions into a statement that he has been No. 1 in the world the last 11 months for a reason.
Playing in the last group, he produced an 8-under 65 for the best round of the tournament. He led by at least five shots over the final 11 holes. He finished at 24-under 268 and collected the 17th victory of his PGA Tour career.
Johnson now has won in 11 straight seasons. “If I can play like that every week, I’m going to win a lot of times,” he said.
The eight-shot margin of victory was his largest ever, and it was one short of the tournament record set by David Duval since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Jordan Spieth also won by eight shots in 2016.
“On this course, it’s tough the way the wind was blowing today,” said Brian Harman, who played in the final group with him and couldn’t keep up, especially on the 12th hole. “He knocks it to a foot on 12 for eagle, and I’m having to lay up to 130 yards. I mean it just, he’s very talented off the tee and he used that to his advantage today.” —