Dustin Johnson (-12), carrying out a sensational exercise of endurance (and patience, because his match was played almost half an hour slower than the others), has achieved victory in the LIV Golf Las Vegas, held at the Las Vegas Country Club in Nevada. The golfer from South Carolina, who started the third and final day of competition as co-leader of the classification, has been able to recover from a small jam halfway through the round to achieve his third victory on the circuit, one per year, the first without having to face a tiebreaker.
After a birdie on his first hole that put him in the lead alone, the American made three bogeys on the 6th, 9th and 11th that seemed to take him out of the fight, following the steps of a decaffeinated Bryson DeChambeau (-7) who was gradually disconnecting from the tournament. But when things were tense and more rivals dreamed of victory was when Dustin started to play better, without major mistakes from the tee, with magnificent shots to green and putting like in his best afternoons.
DJ WINS IN LAS VEGAS 🏆
What a clutch performance for the @4AcesGC_ captain 👏#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/Az10MbQkXi
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 10, 2024
He saved delicate situations and ended up signing three decisive birdies on the 13th, 15th and 17th to, with a card of 69 strokes, prevail by one advantage over Talor Gooch (-11), able to overcome a bogey and a double bogey halfway through the round and who brushed an eagle on his last flag with which he would have forced the playoff, and Peter Uihlein (-11), with whom Dustin shared a team last year and whom, according to his own words this week, he would not have changed for Harold Varner III in the end-of-year transfer market.
Both DJ and Jon Rahm (-8) used the rules to be able to drop without penalty on their second shot of the 18th, after their starts deviated slightly to the right, and the American, with a much better angle to the flag than the initial one, ended up executing a simply fantastic shot to the center of the green with which he sentenced the victory. Two putts served him to win and two putts he made to break the bank in the city of casinos and become the player who has won the most money in prizes to date in LIV Golf, surpassing 53 million dollars (including 18 for winning the individual title in 2022).
DJ SLAMS IT IN 🔥
He takes the lead heading to the final hole 🙌#LIVGolf @4AcesGC_ pic.twitter.com/8EaV4urXUx
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 10, 2024
The champion of Barrika experienced something similar to what happened a week ago in Mayakoba. He was very involved in the fight for victory throughout the day, but ended up being left out in the final stretch of his round. This time, in the most unexpected place, the par five of the 15th hole, which he had started tied with 10 under par to five other players (Gooch, Kokrak, Uihlein, Wolff and Johnson) in the first position of the classification.
A bad start to a tree area, a recovery to the rough and a horrible approach, which landed next to the public, seemed to sentence him. But Jon used magic to bring his ball to just over a meter from the flag and dream of saving an impossible par to stay ‘alive’ in the tournament. And when the hardest seemed done, he failed with the putter to say practically goodbye to the tournament. On the 16th he holed a great putt to avoid another bogey that seemed sung and on the 17th he did not read well the fall of the green losing his last chance to reengage. He closed his round with a new bogey, on the 18th, with which he fell three places, to the 8th alone.
DJ clutched up down the stretch 🤝#LIVGolf @4AcesGC_ pic.twitter.com/jlUyYNQUAm
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) February 10, 2024
He was, in any case, the best of the Spaniards in this LIV Golf in Las Vegas event. David Puig (-5) finished in 15th place tied; Sergio García (-3) was 26th tied; while Eugenio López-Chacarra (-2) finished in 30th place tied. The team victory went to the Smash GC (-33) of McDowell, Gooch, Koepka and Kokrak, ahead of the 4Aces (-26) of DJ, Pérez, Varner III and Reed and the RangeGoats GC (-24) of Uihlein, Wolff, Watson and Pieters.
