New York
Dustin Johnson seized the world number one ranking in emphatic style Sunday, firing an eight-under par final-round 63 to win the US PGA Northern Trust by 11 strokes. Johnson finished with a 30-under par total of 254 at TPC Boston, with Harris English a distant second on 265 after a closing 69. Johnson’s 22-under third-round total had given him the largest 54-hole lead on tour this season — five strokes — and he was quick to build on it on Sunday. He set the tone with an eight-foot eagle putt at the second, set up by a magnificent seven-iron over the water. He tapped in for birdie at the fourth and rolled in a four-foot birdie at the fifth. Birdie putts of 10 and 13 feet at the seventh and eighth saw him make the turn five-under for the day, and he rolled in another four-foot birdie at the 12th. The only thing that slowed him was a weather delay, the horn sounding just after he teed off on 17. Johnson returned and birdied the par-five 18th in near darkness and steady rain. He matched the second-lowest score in relation to par in a 72-hole US PGA Tour event. Ernie Els holds the record of 31-under shot at Kapalua in 2003, and Jordan Spieth won the 2016 Tournament of Champions with a 30-under total. His margin of victory was the largest on tour since 2006. ‘It is a big margin, and I’m definitely really proud of that,’ Johnson said. ‘I played really good. I knew I was playing well and I knew the guys were going to shoot low. ‘So I was trying to get 30-under — holed a nice little putt on the last hole to get to 30.’—APP
