If there are horses for courses, then Dustin Johnson is the Secretariat of the Saudi International.
In the past three years, D.J. has two wins and a second in this European Tour event, the latest victory coming on Sunday when he pulled out the victory with a lot less than his “A” game.
Johnson overcame a round where his putter was colder than an Antarctic afternoon but his ball-striking was spot on enough for him to shoot a final round 68 at Royal Greens Golf Club, good for a two shot margin of victory.
D.J.’s lack of birdie production opened the door for other challengers but no one was willing to step through it until Tony Finau tied him at 14-under after birdies at 11, 12 and 13. But once he realized he shared the lead, Tony reverted to the form that has not allowed him to win more than once on the PGA Tour. He three-putted the par three 16th for bogey then made a ridiculous bogey at the 17th from the fairway with a short wedge shot in.
At that point, it was Johnson’s tournament after he bounced by from a bogey at that 16th with a monster drive at the par four 17th that left him just short of the green at the 350-yard par four. He hit a beautiful chip to three feet, holed it and went to 18 with a two-shot lead over Justin Rose, who shot 65 and posted 13-under. Finau birdied 18 to tie Rose for second.
D.J. played conservative and closed with an easy five for his first win of 2021.
“I knew I was hitting it well, I saw the leaderboard and I knew the guys were playing well,” Johnson said shooting 68, his highest round in his three appearances in the event. “I kept giving myself chances – I didn’t hole any of them but I hit good shots and I finally holed a really nice putt on 13 and from there on I played solid.”
Johnson’s victory tightened his grip on the No. 1 ranking in the world. “Couldn’t hole any putts today. Just the reads, I’d see it going left to right it would go right to left; I’d see it going right to left it would go left to right. It was tough all day today,” Johnson said as he missed at least three putts inside five feet, all for birdies and another four-footer for par at the 16th.
At the par five fifth hole, Johnson hit a beautiful second to 10 feet for eagle but missed that one early and it set the tone for a balky putter.
“I don’t get to play around the world as much as I’d like to and its definitely nice to get a win not on my tour,” Johnson said after winning the event for the second time in three years.
“After Augusta to get my first win, the game’s still in really good form and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
