The Masters: Dustin Johnson breaks Masters scoring record in five-shot win at Augusta | Golf news

Johnson cuts the lead from four shots to one after five holes on the final day, but walked away to win by five and set a new Masters scoring record at 20 under par to claim the second major title.

Dustin Johnson broke the Masters scoring record, held by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth

Dustin Johnson overcame an early stutter to march to a record victory at the 84th Masters with another high-quality performance on the final day at Augusta National.

Johnson’s four-shot lead overnight was reduced to one within five holes when Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im pressured the American early on, but he refused to budge and closed with a four-under 68 for a win by five shots while setting a new tournament record of 20 under par, eclipsing the previous best that Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth had.

Three consecutive birdies from the 13th secured a relatively stress-free march to the title for Johnson, who rose to procession status as he avoided the water with his tee shot at 16 and two putts safely to a rare right-back pin position. from the bottom. level.

Johnson fired a final 68 to finish at low par 20

Rory McIlroy came within five of the leader with three birdies in the first eight holes, but only managed one more on a 69 that put him nine behind the champion, while Woods made the headlines for the wrong reasons after making a 10 on the 12th par three, including three in the water, although he did manage to come back with five birdies in the last six holes.

Johnson looked a bit uneasy on the first tee and drove into the fairway bunker to the right, but he landed a second useful in the heart of the green and jumped to the second tee with a pair on his card.

Another drive pushed in the second found the first cut, from where he scraped an ambitious fairway wood and then got too cute with his throw and threw it into the forward trap.

4:18

Dustin Johnson put on another high-quality performance on the final day at Augusta National to claim a record victory at the 84th Masters.

But he turned to his fighting qualities to save the pair just as Smith followed his birdie in the second with another in the third to cut Johnson’s nighttime lead to just two shots in half.

Johnson hit back when he expired a poor pitch in the third to roll on a slippery, roundabout putt for a birdie in the third, while I fell three behind after matching Smith’s first birdies at two and three.

How DJ won the Masters

Relive a record-breaking exhibition by Dustin Johnson at Augusta National.

The gap at the top was back to two when Johnson was a short stick with his tee shot in the difficult quarter, and needed three putts to get down before another shot went off after a bunker drive in the fifth. , where I got up and – down to save the pair and find only one behind the leader.

Johnson responded immediately and converted from six feet in the sixth, and his lead returned to three when I bogeyed and made another mistake in the seventh, where Smith produced an impressive second from the pines to set up a birdie from within 10 feet.

12:45

Dustin Johnson coaxes his birdie putt across the green to drop a single touch for a closing pair and with it his second major title in convincing fashion.

Smith conjured something similar in the ninth, his ball pitched on the left side and rolled to four feet for his fourth birdie of the day, with Johnson finding the eighth green with two lustful shots and surely two putts for a birdie-four.

A good pair in the ninth brought Johnson into the turn at 35 as he held on to two from Smith, who missed at 11 before the champion-elect followed a good streak of pairs with a birdie at 13 that restored his buffer of four strokes.

More birdies at 14 and 15 left the result beyond doubt. The only question that remained was how far he would break the overall scoring record before signing his card, heading to the Butler cabin, and being helped into a neat green Woods jacket.

Johnson finished five behind Cam Smith and Sungjae Im

A good pair of two putts from the lowest level at 16, where the pin was in an unusual position to the rear to the right, was his last major stumbling block traded, and cast iron pairs on the last two holes ended in a week of sustained excellence from sharp world # 1.

His winning score was two shots better than Woods in 1997 and Spieth in 2015, while Augusta’s other record fell to Smith, as his finish of 69 made him the first player to shoot U-70 rounds in all four days of the Masters. .

Tiger’s 10 at 12

Tiger Woods put three balls in the water while racing with a nightmare 10 at par three 12 at Augusta

Smith’s three-under closer was matched by Im as they shared second place, three shots ahead of world number 3 Justin Thomas (70), with McIlroy one more hit off the beat alongside Dylan Frittelli (72). .

McIlroy ruled out his chances Saturday night as he contemplated being eight shots off the pace, though he came within five of the leader with his third birdie of the day in the eighth, but only managed one more in the 13th and settled. for a 69 and a tie for fifth place at 11 under par.

World number two Jon Rahm, who shared half the lead with Johnson and Thomas before losing ground with 72 in the third round, only had two pairs on his card in an entertaining back-nine that featured an eagle on 15, three birdies, a bogey and a double bogey five at 12 after a visit to the water.

1:30

Tiger Woods says it will be a completely different Masters tournament in April after a final day of testing for last year’s winner.

All of that added up to a score of 71 and 72 holes out of 10 under alongside Brooks Koepka (70) and CT Pan (68), while Woods was left licking his wounds after the humiliation at 12, the first double-digit score ever. achievement. has made it into any gap in his professional career.