Johnson closes strong again to win, rise to world No. 2
AKRON, OHIO Remember the mighty Dustin Johnson we saw two weeks ago in the U. S. Open at Oakmont Country Club northeast of Pittsburgh? He showed up in northeast Ohio, too. This time, however, the big- hitting South Carolinian didn’t have to deal with a rules decision. Instead, two weeks after he overcame the U. S. Golf Association’s controversial decision to penalize him in the final round and won his first major championship in overpowering style, Johnson again overwhelmed the course with his strength and won the World Golf Championships- Bridgestone Invitational.
With a final- round 4- under- par 66 Sunday on the South Course at Firestone Country Club — he also shot 66 Saturday — Johnson finished at 6- under 274 and overcame the 54- hole leaders, world No. 1 Jason Day and Scott Piercy.
Trailing by three at the start of the day, Johnson finished one clear of Piercy ( 70), who also finished runner- up in the U. S. Open.
Day ( 72), No. 3 Jordan Spieth ( 67), Matt Kuchar ( 66) and Kevin Chappell ( 67) finished three back.
With the win, Johnson moved past Spieth in the rankings and is now a careerhigh No. 2.
With 22 drives of 325 yards or longer, including nine of 350 or longer, Johnson beat up the tree- lined South Course as much as anybody could. He also did some great work with his putter; he made 29 of 30 putts inside 10 feet on the weekend. And with birdies on 13, 14 and 17, a lasthole bogey proved inconsequential.
“I feel great. I feel like my game is where it has been all year,” said Johnson, who won his 11th PGA Tour title and third WGC title. It also was Johnson’s eighth top- 10 in his last 11 events.
“I feel like I’ve been playing really solid all year. I’ve been driving it great. I’ve been wedging it good. It’s just I haven’t been putting quite as well as I’d like to, and the last couple weeks I’ve just putted a little bit better, and the game shows it. ...
“My driver’s been great. I feel if I get it into the fairway, I’m going to be tough to beat.”
While he’s been working extremely hard on his wedge play and putter this year, he won’t change his mind- set heading into the
No. 16 pivotal British Open in two weeks or the PGA Championship two weeks after that.
“I’ve just got to keep going and going, keep working on my game, trying to get better, and just keep putting myself in positions to have a chance to win,” Johnson said.
Day was in position to win despite likening himself to the ancient and clueless Mr. Haverkamp in Caddyshack after his third round, saying he had no idea where the ball was going. After a chip- in eagle from 48 feet on the second hole Sunday, Day looked to be Day again until a bogey on the 15th. And then he drove his tee shot on the 16th under a tree, hit his second into another set of trees, his third into the water and made double- bogey 7.
“I played pretty good golf up until 16. I really had two bad holes. I had a couple bogeys, but really kind of one hole that derailed me, which was 16,” said Day, who was trying to win his eighth title in his last 20 worldwide starts.
“It’s obviously disappointing to not get the win here, but I feel like it’s coming around nicely. I’m playing some pret- ty good golf. Played good golf after the opening round at the U. S. Open, came home pretty strong, and this week I’ve played pretty solid. But obviously my goal is to try and win. ...
“Disappointed, but I’ve got to try and focus on what I did great this week, move on, and try and get better for the next one.”
Spieth left Firestone wishing he could have had one shot back — his third into the par- 5 16th in the third round that found the pond fronting the green. It led to a triple- bogey 8. But he was in good spirits ahead of leaving for Scotland on Friday for the British Open.
“I feel a lot better now than I did on Thursday,” Spieth said. “I felt like I had a two- way miss going, back even through Colonial, and that’s rare for me. I felt kind of loose in my swing, and I started to really pick lines, trust it, and commit through the ball, be more aggressive through the ball, and today I was able to hit both ball flights with my irons, trust them, and pull them off, which are really good shots that I can take forward.
“This was a very solid day and a nice progression from the beginning of the week. Each day got a little better, which was what I told you all I wanted to do from the start.”