Golf: Dustin Johnson lays down a marker with eight-shot win in his season opener
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Plantation Course.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - World No. 1 Dustin Johnson powered to an eight-shot triumph at the PGA Tour's Tournament of Champions in Hawaii on Sunday (Jan 7).
His masterful display off the tee at the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua included a near hole-in-one at the par-four 12th hole - where his drive left him a six-inch tap-in for eagle.
He carded an eight-under 65 for a total of 24-under 268 and his 17th PGA Tour triumph, seemingly impervious to the wind and intermittent rain throughout the round.
"I knew I was playing well and it's a golf course that I'm really confident on," Johnson said.
"I've really been driving the ball (well) this week," added the American, who has a new driver in his bag. "I knew that as long as I could keep doing that, I was going to play well."
Spain's Jon Rahm was second after a 69 for 276 and is projected to rise from No. 4 to No. 3 in the world thanks to his runner-up finish.
Brian Harman, who started the day two shots behind Johnson atop the leaderboard, closed with a one-under 72 for sole possession of third place on 277.
It was a further stroke back to Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (66) and Americans Pat Perez (69) and Rickie Fowler (70).
Matsuyama played his last seven holes in five under par with the aid of an eagle on the par-five 15th, where he landed his approach shot 10 feet from the pin.
But Johnson had put himself out of reach of all pursuers in the elite 34-player event for 2017 tournament winners. He raced away from the field with four birdies on the front nine.
His only miscue of the day was at the par-three 11th, where he was in a bunker off the tee en route to a bogey.
He responded in magnificent style with his monster drive setting up his eagle at the 12th, and he padded his lead with three straight birdies at the 14th, 15th, and 16th.
His eight-shot margin of victory was the biggest of his career.
The win was especially satisfying after his final-round collapse at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in October, when he had led by six through three rounds but stumbled to a closing 77 to finish tied for second behind Justin Rose.
"After China, where I struggled a little bit on Sunday, I didn't want to back down," Johnson said. "Even when I made the turn - I think I was 20 under - I told myself to get it to 25. I kind of just kept the pedal down."
Johnson, who seized the world No. 1 ranking last February, has now won at least one US tour title for 11 straight years.
"Obviously I got off to a great start and I want to keep it going," he said of his 2018 opener. "Things are going in the right direction."
