Written by Kyle Porter at CBSSports.com
Dustin Johnson played 112 holes at the 2017 WGC-Dell Match Play Championship. He never trailed in any of his seven matches. Johnson won his third consecutive tournament on Sunday in Austin, Texas, with a 1-up victory against Jon Rahm in the final after defeating Hideto Tanihara 1-up in the semifinals.
His match with Rahm was a roller coaster. Johnson brought the heat early and went 5-up over the first eight holes. Rahm closed like a boss, though, and made birdie at three of the last six holes to narrow the gap. It wasn’t enough. Johnson needed a par on the last hole, got it and held his fifth career WGC trophy. That number is second only to Tiger Woods, who has 18 such titles to his name.
“I didn’t give him any holes excpet for 10,” Johnson told NBC’s Steve Sands of his match with Rahm. “It was tough out there. The greens got fast. Jon played really well. I didn’t give him anything. I’m playing pretty well. Today was a really tough day. I’m proud of the way I played and stayed in there.”
🏆 That’s a winner 🏆
Dustin Johnson defeats Jon Rahm 1UP to win the @DellMatchPlay for his third consecutive victory. pic.twitter.com/at1GgFeqkA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 26, 2017
Johnson made only three birdies against Rahm, but he was terrific in all seven of his matches. He led for 105 of those 112 holes, which is just outrageous considering how many quality golfers he faced.
Johnson blazed through his group of Jimmy Walker, Martin Kaymer and Webb Simpson (all major championship winners) before beating Zach Johnson (two more majors) in the Round of 16, Alex Noren in the quarterfinals and Hideto Tanihara in the semifinals with some clutch putting on the final two holes.
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