[ad_1]
Dustin Johnson holds up the FedEx Cup trophy after winning the Tour Championship golf tournament on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 at Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. (AP Photo / John Bazemore)
ATLANTA – It looks like Dustin Johnson plays without a pulse. Underneath his stoic gaze and arrogance as he walked the streets of East Lake were on edge Monday because it meant so much to him.
The $ 15 million prize for winning the FedEx Cup? That would get anyone’s attention, especially someone who thought he was rich when Johnson cashed his first tournament check as a rookie on the PGA Tour for $ 113,571.
But there was more.
“Prestige, for sure,” Johnson said after hitting a key pair putt and steady play down the stretch for a 2-under-68, three-shot Tour Championship win.
“Being a FedEx Cup champion is something I really wanted to do. I wanted to hold that trophy at the end of the day, ”Johnson said. “It was something I wanted to achieve during my career.”
He did it by striding at just the right time.
He won two of the three FedEx Cup postseason events and lost in a playoff by a 65-foot putt at the other. It all came down to the last day of the final event, and even with a five-shot lead, it was never easy.
Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas each came within three shots in the top nine. Each came within two shots of Johnson with two holes to play. He never let them get caught, and his only birdie of the last nine on the final hole gave him his third win since June and the 23rd of his career on the PGA Tour.
“It’s a very difficult trophy to win,” Johnson said. “I controlled my own destiny, but I still had to go out and play well. I had many great players behind me. He approached the end. I knew I would get to the home stretch and I would have to make some golf shots. “
None was greater than the 20-foot par putt on the 13th hole to maintain their lead on three strokes, the 5-iron safely on the green at the hardest hole at East Lake, another 5-iron over the water at the par 3 The 15th hole, the only hole where the big numbers lurk, and a wedge from a deep bunker onto the green on the 16th.
“This is a difficult golf course. No lead is safe, ”Johnson said. “The guys gave me a good fight today.”
Johnson became the first No. 1 seed in the Tour Championship to win the FedEx Cup since Tiger Woods in 2009. He now has his name engraved on the silver trophy along with some of the best of his generation, starting with Woods and more. recently with Rory McIlroy. , with Hall of Famers, great champions and former World No. 1 players in between.
Schauffele, who tends to bring his best golf to the big moments, cut the lead to two shots when both had to fight for par at 13. Schauffele missed his par putt from 25 feet and Johnson rammed his.
“He’s here to win the tournament,” said Schauffele, who finished with a 66 and had the lowest score of the tournament at 72 holes at 265. “He made that putt. I did not do it. That was a climactic moment. “
Thomas bogeyed a wild tee shot to the right at the 17th. Schauffele also had to fight on the 17th, escaping with par after a tee shot into the bunker. And on 18 par 5, Johnson unleashed a drive that started to the left along the pines and faded gently to the center of the fairway.
That set up a birdie from the front bunker, a hug with brother Austin, his caddy and a much-desired trophy.
Johnson held a five-shot advantage at 19-under-9 under his own score and began the tournament with 10-under as the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup. It ended at 21 under.
Schauffele and Thomas tied for second, each earning $ 4.5 million.
Jon Rahm, the No. 2 seed, closed with a 66 to finish fourth for $ 3 million. Scottie Scheffler, who a year ago was preparing to start her rookie year, finished 66-65 and was fifth with a $ 2.5 million reward.
And so the weirdest season on the PGA Tour concluded, which doesn’t seem like the end at all except for the $ 15 million awarded to Johnson, $ 14 million now and $ 1 million deferred.
Read next
EDITOR’S SELECTION
MOST READ
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
