Dustin Johnson birdied two of the last three holes Sunday to win the US PGA St. Jude Classic after reigning US Open champion Rory McIlroy’s hopes ended with a double bogey on the last hole.
Johnson captured his sixth US PGA victory at the $5.6 million event, his first since last year’s Barclays, by firing a final-round 66, four-under par, that included birdies at the par-5 16th and par-4 17th holes. Johnson finished 72 holes on nine-under par 271, one stroke ahead of fellow American John Merrick and two in front of Australian Nick O’Hern and Americans Davis Love, Ryan Palmer and Chad Campbell.Northern Ireland’s McIlroy, who defends his US Open crown starting Thursday at The Olympic Club, was among half a dozen contenders within a stroke of the lead over the final holes at TPC Southwind. McIlroy birdied the par-4 second, par-3 fourth and par-4 seventh holes and added another at the par-3 11th to put himself in the title hunt. Even after bogeys at the par-4 12th and par-3 14th he was among the leaders.
A birdie at the par-4 17th gave him a share of the lead at eight-under, but McIlroy’s double bogey at 18 left him with a 69 to share seventh on 274 with American Ken Duke, Australian Robert Allenby and South Korean Seung-Yul Noh. Johnson started well with an opening birdie and back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh before closing the front nine with his lone bogey of the day, then making six pars before his back-to-back bogeys and a closing par to win.
Merrick birdied the 15th an 16th but was undone by his double bogey at 12 while Campbell and O’Hern were undone by bogeys at 18.
Feng wins LPGA Championship, first major for China
Feng Shanshan became the first Chinese golfer to win a major title by firing a bogey-free five-under par 67 on Sunday to capture the LPGA Championship by two strokes. The 22-year-old from Beijing, who began golfing at age 10 and came to America as a teen before joining the LPGA in 2008, took her first career LPGA triumph by finishing 72 holes at Locust Hill Country Club on six-under 282. “I still can’t believe that I won a major. It just feels so good,” Feng said. “I’m just so excited right now. I did it.” Japan’s Mika Miyazato, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, American Stacy Lewis and South Korean Eun-Hee Ji shared second on 284. Feng, whose victory was worth $375,000, will rise from 10th to fourth in the world ranking on Monday. She fired the week’s low round on the final day. “My goal for the year was to win on the LPGA Tour and a top 10 in a major. I did them at one time,” Feng said. But as meaningful as the shock victory was for Feng, it could resonate far more in China, which opened its first golf course in 1984, only five years before Feng was born. “Golf wasn’t that popular in China,” Feng said. “I was lucky to have a chance to start.” Feng, who asked television commentators to call her “Jenny”, said she had planned to play upcoming LPGA events, but will instead celebrate her victory with a trip home to China. She plans to play July 5-8 in the US Women’s Open.
A startled Feng exclaimed, “Oh my God,” when she saw the winner’s trophy and where her name would be engraved beside that of World No. 1 Yani Tseng of Taiwan, the five-time major winner who owns three victories this season.
Despite lingering political tensions between their homelands, Feng said she and Tseng get along well and Feng one day hopes to match Tseng’s success by reaching the top of the rankings. “I’m still chasing her,” Feng said. “But maybe I got a little closer.” In a strong amateur career in China, Feng won nine titles, including the China Women’s Amateur title from 2004 through 2006. Feng shared the runner-up spot in February’s HSBC Women’s Champions event in Singapore to match her best LPGA result to that point, runner-up efforts in last year’s Mizuno Classic and the 2008 Bell Micro LPGA Classic.
“This means a lot for me,” Feng said. “This is my fifth year on the tour. I had no winning. I was down. I was thinking, ‘Could I win again?’ Now I know I can win again.” Feng, who began the day three strokes off the pace, birdied the par-4 second and sixth holes and added another at the par-5 eighth.