Irmo’s Johnson Wins 1st Event as World’s No. 1 Player

MEXICO CITY (ESPN) — Dustin Johnson is never going to light up a room with his banter, and he certainly had no intention of being party to an exciting finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship if he could help it.

That fact that he turned it into something more than a stroll Sunday and overcame a brief lapse to win says a good bit about the game’s No. 1-ranked player who now has consecutive victories.

Even on a course that did not particularly suit him, on greens that befuddled him, with an all-star cast of players surrounding him, and a fearless up-and-coming talent pushing him, Johnson, 32, prevailed with a steady final four holes to win by a stroke over England’s Tommy Fleetwood while also overcoming Jon Rahm’s rally.

The victory was the 14th of Johnson’s PGA Tour career and followed his win two weeks ago at the Genesis Open, where he moved to No. 1 in the world and solidified that stature Sunday with his fourth World Golf Championship title. Only Tiger Woods (with 18) has more.

“This was a great win,” said Johnson, who shot a final-round, 3-under-par 68. “The first round I struggled a little on the greens, but I was really hitting the ball well. I didn’t feel like I putted the ball bad. I just hit it really well and hung in there.”

Johnson might have felt OK about his putting, but he had 16 misses inside of 10 feet for the week and finished outside of the top 20 in strokes-gained putting. That’s usually not a winning formula, but it speaks to his ball-striking prowess and why he will be among the leading threats next month at the Masters.

Since last June when he captured his first major title at the U.S. Open, Johnson has five PGA Tour wins in 17 starts, with two WGC titles, nine top-three finishes and 13 top 10s.

He might not win every time, but his consistency is off the charts.

“My goal is to try and win every tournament I play, but I want to be in contention,” he said. “I want to give myself a chance going to the back [nine] every time on Sunday.”

Johnson seemed to have wrapped this one up by that point. The drama and excitement that filled the air at Club de Golf Chapultepec all week went missing for a good part of the day, replaced by Johnson’s steadiness. Four birdies over the first nine holes gave him the big lead that looked insurmountable.

Playing a game that often looks too easy, Johnson was cruising until consecutive bogeys at the 12th and 13th holes. An eagle by Rahm at the 11th and a birdie at the 14th suddenly tied it, and when Rahm birdied the 15th hole, he briefly went ahead.

But Johnson also birdied the 15th and it was Rahm who blinked, bogeying the 16th and 17th holes. Fleetwood’s final-hole birdie caused Johnson to sweat to the end, and he called his 54-degree three-quarter shot from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole his best of the week.

He never looked flustered, but Johnson needed that shot to secure the victory, a routine two-putt sealing the win.

And yet, it figured to be tougher than that. The final 18 holes were in stark contrast to the first 54 at a new venue that bemused and befuddled the best players in the world, ultimately leading to a jam-packed leaderboard filled with several of the game’s top players.

But by the ninth hole in the final round, it was seemingly over. Justin Thomas, the third-round leader by a stroke, saw his chances for a fifth PGA Tour victory and fourth this season drown in the lake beside the seventh green. Fighting his swing most of the day — Thomas several times dropped his club during his swing, and at one time threw it — he shot 72 to tie for fifth.

“DJ played great, he deserved it, but I just need to play a little better if I expect to win a golf tournament of this stature,” he said.

Rory McIlroy, who had a chance to supplant Johnson as the No. 1-ranked player in the world with a victory, provided Johnson dropped outside the top 4, also struggled, failing to make a birdie through the first 13 holes. Still, it was a successful return to competitive golf for McIlroy, who was making his first start since a rib injury forced him out in January.

“I needed to get off to a fast start and I didn’t,” said McIlroy, who shot even-par 71 and tied for seventh. “That was really it. I mean you look at what DJ did through sort of the first nine holes, I needed to get off to a start like that. The course got a little trickier over the weekend. Maybe I just didn’t quite adjust to that. But all in all, first week back, it’s OK. But being two ahead going into the weekend, obviously disappointed with the finish.”

Other contenders Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood fell out of contention early, with only Rahm providing the pressure.

Rahm, 22, was the top-ranked amateur in the world a year ago and has made a fast impression as a pro. He won in January at Torrey Pines and shot a final-round 68 despite the two bogeys near the end to nearly steal this tournament.

But in the end it was Johnson, who will now take the next two weeks off before returning at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship. That is the start of a three-week run that will include the Masters.

Perhaps the only bad thing for Johnson at the moment is that the year’s first major championship at Augusta National is not starting right now.