WGC-Mexico Championship report: Joy of six of DJ

WGC-Mexico Championship report: What happened at Chapultepec?

World No. 3 Dustin Johnson continued his stunning 2019 form as he won his sixth WGC title and 20th PGA Tour title with a five-shot victory over Rory McIlroy.

Dominant @DJohnsonPGA at @WGCMexico.

DJ seals the deal on PGA TOUR win No. 20.

He wins by FIVE at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

It's his second win in three years in Mexico.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/l7gjMFjQz6

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2019

It was largely a two-horse race over the weekend, with the Northern Irishman proving to be Johnson’s only real challenger, and even he finished way back.

After holding a four-shot lead going into Sunday’s play, Johnson wasn’t really made to sweat it.

McIlroy failed to make the most of the leader’s wobbly start which saw him bogey the 3rd, and by the time they finished the 6th the gap was five.

Wedge work for @DJohnsonPGA. 🎯

The lead is now FIVE @WGCMexico.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/A7ySnAT2gT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2019

The challenge was all but over when McIlroy found himself in trouble behind a tree…

One left-handed shot.
One shot in the water.

A bogey for Rory McIlroy.

He's in 2nd place, but now 5 back. pic.twitter.com/CPBfxFc5PC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2019

But it was after the turn when this round really came alive for both players.

McIlroy shot 5-under-par in his closing nine holes, which most weeks would be more than enough to snatch a victory from 2nd place.

6-under in his last 7 holes for @McIlroyRory.

His problem is DJ is 4-under on those holes.

He's behind by 4 headed to 18 @WGCMexico. pic.twitter.com/Bd6zS07wom

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2019

But DJ is no amateur and thanks to some impressive wedge play, he closed out with a back-nine of 5-under to ensure a comfortable win.

🔥 @DJohnsonPGA's wedge game 🔥

He's birdied 5 of his last 7 @WGCMexico.

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/4IojcbPkPT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2019

WGC-Mexico Championship leaderboard

DJ still has a long way to go to catch up with Tiger though…

Most WGC’s since 1999:

18. @TigerWoods
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6. @DJohnsonPGA
5.
4.
3. Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy
2. Darren Clarke, Jason Day, Ernie Els, Hunter Mahan, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Bubba Watson pic.twitter.com/o2BfbpALF9

— NCG (@NCG_com) February 24, 2019

Thanks to this week’s triumph and the workings of the Official World Golf Rankings, DJ will return to World No. 1 following next week’s tournaments.

A special shout out to Justin Thomas who truly tore it up on Sunday shooting 62.

The American, who had the Genesis Open title snatched away from him by JB Holmes a week ago, was not able to contest over the first three days, but his final round was incredible.

First 11 holes for @JustinThomas34 …

Birdie
Birdie
Birdie
Birdie
Par
Birdie
Par
Bogey
Birdie
Birdie
Birdie#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/k8TNNeIaWg

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 24, 2019

WGC-Mexico Championship report: The talking points

First upIt’s some vintage Tiger that had EVERYBODY talking…

Unbelievable.

What a swing.
What a shot.

Wow, @TigerWoods. 👏 #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/cO134n7oEm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 22, 2019

The sliced nine-iron out of a fairway bunker was executed in a fashion that only the great man himself could pull off.

In a week where he scored to a decent level but struggled with various parts of his game at different points, this was a true highlight and Twitter loved it.

Wowowowowow. pic.twitter.com/mXgnRGTj2L

— Skratch (@Skratch) February 22, 2019

@PGATOUR this needs to be the new logo. Please, I beg you. pic.twitter.com/SQEhspW8dO

— Hannah Wood (@Hannahwoooood21) February 24, 2019

Whatever it takes. 😳 pic.twitter.com/RhkA4yXZMz

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 23, 2019

Tiger Woods 2019 schedule

Elsewhere, you might remember Sergio Garcia’s recent disqualification from the Saudi International – and it looked like Bryson had taken some inspiration from that after his first round this week.

Bryson DeChambeau damaging a green in anger, yesterday in Mexico. 😮😮pic.twitter.com/HyT6PCC4tL

— NCG (@NCG_com) February 22, 2019

This was born out of frustration at his own game after a tough opening 18, but that’s still no excuse for damaging the facilities that the rest of the field will be using too.

There was no penalty handed to Bryson and that is probably fair enough, but Bryson did acknowledge he was in the wrong and apologised.

I want to apologize to my fans, fellow players and the staff at Chapultepec for my actions following the round yesterday. I am an extremely passionate player and I am always working on ways to be better.

— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) February 22, 2019

To be fair though, he did repair his mark, so that makes it all fine, doesn’t it?

And finally, you guessed it, it’s the Rules of Golf…

Rickie Fowler once again fell foul of the new rules. He first found himself on the wrong side of the law at the Phoenix Open, and this time it was a simple brain freeze. Steve Carroll has everything you need to know right here.