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World number one Dustin Johnson emphatically won the Masters at Augusta National to secure the second major title of his career.
American Johnson, whose previous big win came at the 2016 US Open, shot a four-under 68 to reach 20 under for the week, five strokes clear of Australia’s Cameron Smith (69) and Im Sung-jae (69 ) from the south. Korea.
Rory McIlroy finished tied for fifth at 11 under par after a final day 69, which put the Northern Irishman on the same level as Dylan Frittelli and one behind Justin Thomas.
Shane Lowry loaded a 73 to finish with four under total in a tie for 25th.
Five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods endured a difficult final round when a 76 dropped the former world number one back to one below and just inside the top 40.
Hole 12, par three, turned out to be his worst, as he encountered the water in front of the green three times on his way to a 10, the highest score on a single hole of his entire career.
Masters Day Four how it happened
But it was Johnson who rose to the occasion during the four days in Georgia.
Having tested positive for Covid-19 in October, he surpassed the tournament record of 18 minus set by Woods in 1997 and equaled by Jordan Spieth in 2015.
Smith and Im’s totals of 15 under par are the best by a runner-up in tournament history and Smith also became the first player to break 70 in all four rounds, but Johnson was a class apart and now has two wins, three final runners-up, a third and a sixth in his last seven starts.
Johnson aspired to be the world’s first No. 1 to win the Masters since Woods in 2002, but he was 0-4 when leading or sharing the lead after 54 holes in a major championship.
The 36-year-old took a three-shot lead in the final round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, but collapsed to 82, while five years later he made three 12-foot putts on the 72nd hole at Chambers Bay. to finish off a shot behind Jordan Spieth.
Johnson eventually clinched his first major title at the 2016 US Open at Oakmont, but fell from tie first to eighth at Shinnecock Hills two years later and failed to convert a one-shot lead in the US PGA Championship. August.
Another painful failure seemed like a troubling possibility, as Johnson saw his four-shot lead overnight reduced to a single hit when he played the first five holes in an over when Smith and Im made two first birdies.
Final leaderboard
Johnson produced a brilliant response with a birdie on the sixth par three and, with a bogey, the lead briefly returned to three until Smith conjured an astonishing birdie from the trees in the seventh.
Smith couldn’t take a shot at the eighth par five, but produced another incredible recovery shot from the pine straw in the ninth that had a lucky rebound and rolled to four feet to set up a birdie.
Johnson had birdied in the eighth moments earlier to give himself a two-shot lead into the final nine and was given a break when Smith dropped a shot in the difficult eleventh.
With mud on his ball on 13th fairway, Johnson wisely chose not to go to the green for two at par five, but calmly hit his third shot at 12 feet and made the putt for a birdie.
Johnson was not finished yet and more birdies on the 14th and 15th made him the first player in tournament history to reach 20 under par.
Away from the title battle, defending champion Tiger Woods suffered a nightmare at par three 12, tossing three balls into the water and eventually putting two putts for a 10, the highest score of his entire career.
However, the 15-times-senior responded in an incredible way with five birdies over the final six holes to restore some pride and complete a closing of 76.
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