Johnson cements No. 1 ranking
Dustin Johnson didn’t flinch when a challenge arrived out of nowhere yesterday, playing mistake-free over the final five holes to win the Mexico Championship in his debut as the No. 1 player in the world.
Johnson’s 4-shot lead going to the back nine turned into a 1-shot deficit when Spanish rookie Jon Rahm ran off an eagle and two birdies at Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City. Johnson caught him with a birdie on the par-5 15th, and closed with three solid pars for a 3-under 68.
Rahm had gone 59 holes without a 3-putt until taking two in a row at the worst time to fall back.
Johnson’s last test was from a fairway bunker on the 18th, and he blasted that out to the middle of the green for a 2-putt par and a 1-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood of England.
“I didn’t feel like I putted my best, but I really hit the ball well,” Johnson said. “I played just well enough, because I won by 1.”
Johnson became the fifth player to win in his first tournament as No. 1 in the world. His fourth World Golf Championship title is second on the career list behind Tiger Woods, who won 18 times since the series began in 1999.
It was quite the consolation prize for the 26-year-old Fleetwood.
His 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 66 put him alone in second and secured a spot in the Masters for the first time. He moves to No. 35 in the world and is certain to stay in the top 50 over the next three weeks before the cutoff to get an invitation to Augusta National.
Rahm’s two late bogeys gave him a 68 and a tie for third with Ross Fisher, who closed with three straight birdies for a 65. That assures Fisher a place in the next WGC event in three weeks at the Dell Match Play.
The great theater among the stars in Mexico City never really materialized.
Justin Thomas, who had a 1-shot lead going into the final round in pursuit of his fourth PGA Tour victory this season, fell back with a double bogey from the water on the par-3 seventh and a bogey on the next hole from a bunker. He closed with a 72 and tied for fifth with Thomas Pieters.
Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, who started 2 shots behind, never got anything going.
Mickelson was wild with his opening tee shot and took bogey on the reachable par-4 first, and a double bogey on No. 8 ended his chances. McIlroy stayed in the mix until Johnson pulled away from him late on the front nine, and McIlroy made only one birdie on the back nine for the second straight day. They both shot 71.
Park out of sight
Inbee Park won the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament by a stroke in Singapore.
The South Korean closed with a final round of 8-under 64 to finish at 19-under 269 at the Sentosa Golf Club. Ariya Jutanugarn was second after a 66. Sung Hyun Park, overnight leader Michelle Wie and No.1-ranked Lydia Ko, the final group of the day, were within a wedge shot into 18 when play was suspended for lightning.
But none of those three could catch Inbee Park — Sung Hyun Park was at 4-under on the day and 16-under on the tournament, while Wie was even-par and finished 5 strokes behind. Ko was also even on the day and at 12-under.
Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 66 to finish 5 behind Inbee Park in the LPGA tournament.
Dean tops the list
Dean Burmester finished with a 65 for a convincing 3-shot victory at the Tshwane Open in Pretoria, South Africa, his maiden European Tour title.
The South African came from a shot off the lead overnight to win on 18-under-par 266 at Pretoria Country Club.
Mikko Korhonen (67) and Jorge Campillo (68) were tied for second as overnight co-leaders Alexander Bjork and Scott Jamieson fell off the pace. Burmester made six birdies in his opening nine, starting with three on his first three holes, to go out in 29 and had a 6-shot lead over his challengers at one point.