Johnson Stuns Allenby With Birdie
With an eight-foot birdie putt on the final hole, Rookie Dustin Johnson pushed Robert Allenby out of a tie and got his first PGA Tour win
Johnson's win catapulted him from 128th on the money list to 41st.
VERONA, N.Y. (AP) -- When the final round of the Turning Stone Resort Championship began, six players near the top of the leaderboard had a chance at that elusive first PGA Tour victory. Rookie Dustin Johnson was the last man standing.
The long-hitting Johnson birdied the final two holes Sunday, sinking an 8-foot putt on the final hole to beat Australian Robert Allenby by one shot.
"I started off the year really well and then I don't really know what happened," said the 24-year-old Johnson, who had two top-10s in his first four starts and then missed nine cuts and withdrew from two other events. "Me and my coach sat down about a month ago and set some goals. I practiced hard and tried to get my game back."
It's back.
Johnson (69) finished at 9-under 279 and pocketed $1.08 million of the $6 million purse, the richest of the Fall Series. That catapulted him from 128th to 41st on the PGA money list. The top 125 at the end of the year retain full exemption for 2009.
"It's kind of hard to explain. I haven't grasped everything yet," said Johnson, who had to sit and wait patiently until third-round co-leader Charles Howell III, the last man with a chance, hit his third shot at 18. "Right now I feel pretty good. I'm obviously very, very excited. Hopefully, it'll hit me a little bit later. I'll probably have to sit down and re-evaluate my goals."
Allenby (70), seeking his fifth victory and first since 2001, had a chance to tie at 18, but his 12-foot putt for birdie stopped inches short of the hole.
"I left everything short," said Allenby, who needed 126 putts on the four rounds. "Yesterday, I probably had the worst putting round of my life. I just lost my nerve with the putter. I tried to regain it, took the putter home last night and slept with it. All you can do is just give it your best."
Mathew Goggin (69), Steve Allan (69), Woody Austin (69), Davis Love III (70), Ryuji Imada (69), Robert Garrigus (69), and Howell (73) all finished at 7 under. Nick O'Hern (68), Pat Perez (70), Joe Ogilvie (70), and Jeff Overton (73) were another shot back.
Tag Ridings (79), who was tied with Howell for the lead at 8 under entering the day, self-destructed with three bogeys, a triple bogey, and one double bogey in an eight-hole span. Ridings, Kyle Thompson, Overton, Davis, and Jason Day (75) also were seeking their first win.
The back nine at the 7,482-yard Atunyote Golf Club course has a 13-acre lake and three other water hazards that make four of the holes difficult, and Johnson found that out. After making birdie at the par-5 12th hole to move to 8 under and within a shot of Allenby, he drove into the water along the right fairway at No. 13 and made bogey.
Allenby, meanwhile, stayed out of trouble all day until his drive at the par-4 15th hole sailed into the right trees. He hit his second shot into a greenside bunker, blasted a terrific shot out to 9 feet but missed the par putt and never managed to get that stroke back.
Overton, who led the first two rounds, tied Allenby at 8 under with a 16-foot birdie putt that just dropped in the hole at 14, but his rally ended quickly. He missed 5-foot par putts at both 16 and 17 to end his chances.
Johnson, who began the day two shots off the lead, had three birdies and two bogeys through the first 13 holes to stay close. He drove it 328 yards off the tee at No. 17 and made a 6-foot birdie putt to tie Allenby at 8 under, then boomed a 357-yard drive at 18.
