Dustin Johnson rallies at Firestone for 2nd straight win

American Dustin Johnson claimed his second title in as many starts after coming from three shots back to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

But Johnson’s was not necessarily a backdoor win; he shot matching four-under par 66s on the weekend on a narrow, hard Firestone Country Club course that has held major championships, only two weeks after winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club by three.

He played beautifully to card two consecutive rounds of 66 on Saturday and Sunday when few others were scoring well, allowing him to take advantage of Jason Day’s disastrous finish.

He clipped the branch of a tree with his approach to the last and he had to settle for a bogey, but it was to prove enough as his rivals faltered on the closing stretch. “I feel like I’ve been playing really solid all year”. Dustin Johnson’s recent clutch wins are a testament to his dominant play, towering drives and silky-smooth hands.

Johnson did his part, making a tough par save on the 15th hole when he got in range and pouring in a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole that made a bogey at the end meaningless.

He joined Johnson on six-under when he took two putts on the 15th before finding the hazard on the 16th on his way to a double bogey.

He finished with a two-over-72 to be tied third at three under with Jordan Spieth (67), Matt Kuchar (66) and Kevin Chappell (67).

He had a one-shot lead and didn’t hit a green in regulation over the last six holes.

“I feel like my game is where it has been all year”, he said. I really had two bad holes. He tied for 13th that week and, two weeks later, tied for second at the U.S. Open.

Johnson, who replaced Spieth as the world No. 2 yesterday, will be beaming with confidence when he heads to the British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland in less than two weeks. “But the recovery is going super good and this is my first time that I’m playing without pain in nearly a year and a half so it’s a different experience”. This was Johnson’s third World Golf Championship title, adding to his wins in the 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions and 2015 WGC-Cadillac Championship. Overall I’m happy about the week. Johnson’s chances to win skyrocketed moments later when Day punched his third shot from the trees into the pond fronting the green. The Offaly native finished 12 shots behind Johnson in a tie for 36th place on +6. I just haven’t been putting as well as I’ve liked to. “I hit an unbelievable tee shot there, and had a wedge in”. “Today I felt I was in a really good place – really calm, collected, just focusing on what I was doing”.

As he explained in his best DJ-ese: “I was just struggling with the draw to get it in the fairway, so I said, ‘I’m going to hit a fade, ‘ and I started hitting a fade”. Her eight-stroke romp made her the third-youngest victor in LPGA history and earned her an immediate spot on the tour.
Henderson won her first major title last month at the Women’s PGA Championship. “But I mean, it still comes down to you’ve got to hit the shots so you can have those putts”.