|
Johnson entered the final round with a two-shot
advantage and blew away the field with an eight-under-par 65 at
the wide open Kapalua Plantation course on Maui.
The 33-year-old, who won four times last season, picked up four
birdies on the first nine and added three more to go along with
an eagle at the par-4 12th hole to shut the door on the
competition. The eagle came during a mammoth drive on the
433-yard hole that saw the ball stop just inches from the cup.
Johnson said the key to his victory was a new driver he decided
to put into play last week.
"I started hitting it real straight and controlled it," Johnson
said. "The driver is what won me the golf tournament this week.
I don't think I hit a bad drive all week." Spain's Jon Rahm shot
a four-under-par 69 and finished second at 16-under. Brian
Harman, who entered the day as the nearest challenger at two
shots back, ended at 15-under.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Americans Rickie Fowler and Pat
Perez were another shot back at 14-under.
But the field was left marveling at Johnson after his latest
performance.
"What he did today was pretty impressive," Rahm said. "None of
us could really do much. That shows how good of a competitor he
is."
Harman was equally impressed.
"He's very talented off the tee and he used that to his
advantage today," said the American.
Johnson’s win officially put his recent hiccup behind him after
he surrendered a six-shot lead in the final round at the HSBC
Champions in Shanghai last October. "After what had happened in
Shanghai, I didn’t want that to happen again," Johnson said.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter
Rutherford/Amlan Chakraborty)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
