PGA Tour: Genesis Open – Dustin Johnson
Reigning US Open champion Dustin Johnson became world No. 1 for the first time on Sunday as he swept aside the field to claim the Genesis Open by five shots.
An even par final round of 71 was enough to claim victory for the 10th successive year on the PGA Tour and move the 32-year-old’s overall tally to 13 wins.
Johnson, whose fiancée Paulina Gretzky recently announced baby No. 2 is “coming soon”, did all the hard work earlier in the day as a third round 64 put Johnson well in command by six shots at a storm hit Riviera Country Club that was still playing catch up from the earlier delays.
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“Winning the golf tournament is most important,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t thinking about my world ranking. Obviously, it’s a great honour and it’s just going to push me to continue to work harder.
“It gives me a lot of confidence. It’s going to push me to work even harder and try to get even better.
“It’s been a long journey. Growing up as a kid playing golf, the dream is to play on the PGA Tour. I never really thought about being No. 1 in the world. Once I got up in the top 10 I knew it was definitely doable and here I am.”
See how he did it here:
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European Tour: World Super 6 – Brett Rumford
Australian Brett Rumford came through in his home town of Perth for his sixth win on Tour with a 2&1 success over Thai teenager Phachara Khongwatmai.
Rumford won the strokeplay side of the tournament by five shot which then got him one of eight byes into the matchplay part of the tournament, a series of six-hole matches. Khongwatmai made it through after claiming one of the five spots from an eight-man play-off.
Rumford needed a medical exemption last year after eating an apple in 2015 led to a blockage and meant 30 centimetres of his small intestine being removed. He then finished 118th on the Race to Dubai but he now has a two-year exemption.
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In the final Rumford went ahead at the 4th after a brilliant up-and-down from some scrub land and then fired an iron to a few feet at the 5th and penultimate hole. The Thai youngster attempted to putt his ball out of the sand but failed to pull it off.
The 17-year-old would have become the second youngest winner in European Tour history, he did win a professional event in 2013 when he was just 14.
Watch all the action from the final here:
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Rumford said of the World Super 6 format: “If it’s going to grow the game and it’s more than just a golf tournament and it becomes an event in which we’re trying to grow this sport with a bit more thrill and excitement about it, then I think as a Tour we’ve done a great job.
“It’s great to be back. I’ve done a lot of reflection these past few months after missing my Tour card last year. I had a tough year and didn’t see my family that much, only four weeks in six months. It was a gruelling six months but I’m back and I couldn’t be happier.”
