Dustin Johnson has backed up his US Open triumph in style, claiming a come-from-behind one-shot victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday.
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Johnson birdied three of the last six holes for enough of a cushion to allow for a closing bogey and still win with a 72-hole total of six-under 274 at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Needing an eagle on his final hole to force a playoff, Day instead finished with a bogey to hand Johnson the title and leave Piercy in outright second place.
And that moved him to number two in the rankings – one spot behind Day – after a magical three-week spell.
But Johnson is aiming higher still, telling Sky Sports: “Of course I want to be the best player in the world”. It also catapults the 32-year-old to second in the world golf rankings, usurping Jordan Spieth, who fell to third. Only Tiger Woods (18) has more WGC victories.
That changed when Day dropped three shots in the space of two holes after he followed a bogey at the par-three 15th with a double at the par-five 16th. “I drove it really well, had a lot of shots from the fairway”.
“I like the kind of golf over there”, said Johnson.
But before Johnson heads off to prepare for the Open Championship at Royal Troon, he spent his fourth of July with fiancee Paulina Gretzky on a boat somewhere.
“I feel like every part of my game is good”. “I’ve played solid all year”. “Today I felt I was in a really good place – really calm, collected, just focusing on what I was doing”.
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“The last couple of weeks I’ve just putted well and my game shows it”. He continued to struggle off the tee at the tight Firestone lay-out, hitting only eight of 28 fairways in his final 36 holes.
