-21 D Johnson; -18 X Schauffele, J Thomas; -17 J Rahm (Spa); -14 S Scheffler; -13 C Morikawa; -12 T Hatton (Eng); -11 R McIlroy (NI), P Reed, S Munoz (Col) |
World number one Dustin Johnson claimed a three-shot victory at the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship.
The American, 36, held a five-stroke lead heading into Monday’s final round at East Lake and carded a two-under 68 to claim the $15m FedEx Cup jackpot.
It is a first FedEx Cup title for Johnson, who squandered a chance to win on the final round four years ago.
Compatriots Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele each carded a final-round 66 to finish tied for second on 18 under.
Johnson told the Golf Channel: “This is a difficult golf course so no lead is really safe. I knew I was going to have to come out and play really well.
“I got off to a really good start, missed a couple of putts on the back side but hit the fairways when I needed to coming down the stretch. The guys gave me a good fight today.
“I wanted to be a FedEx Cup champion, it’s something in my career I would like to be and I’m very proud of the way I’ve played, especially over the last four tournaments.”
Former US Open champion Johnson maintained his overnight advantage after six holes but shot consecutive bogeys at seven and eight to offer Thomas and Schauffele hope.
Thomas applied the pressure with five birdies on his outward nine, as both he and Schauffele momentarily moved to within two of the lead over the day.
However, Johnson, the first player to hold a 54-hole lead in four straight strokeplay events since Tiger Woods in 1999, held his nerve and sealed the title with a bogey on the last.
US PGA winner Collin Morikawa made a final-round 69 to finish sixth on 13 under, one shot ahead of England’s Tyrrell Hatton.
Northern Ireland’s defending champion and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy was one shot further back on 11 under.
How the Tour Championship works
Johnson began the Atlanta event on 10 under par as the Tour Championship’s top-ranked player.
Players at the event are handicapped based on FedEx Cup points earned during the season and the top 30 in the rankings contend the Tour Championship.
The top-ranked player begins the 72-hole tournament on 10 under par, while the second seed starts on eight under.
The third seed tees off at seven under and so on down to the fifth seed at five under. Seeds 6-10 begin at −4; seeds 11-15 begin at −3; and so on, down to seeds 26-30, who start at level par.