Dustin Johnson reclaims World No.1 spot with win at FedEx St Jude Classic

Dustin Johnson reclaimed the World No.1 spot from Justin Thomas with a victory at the FedEx St Jude Classic the week before the US Open. 

And he did it with a walk-off eagle on the 18th hole from the middle of the fairway to claim his 18th PGA Tour title by six shots. Although at first, he wasn’t sure if it had gone in. 

“By the reaction from the crowd, I thought it might have gone in, but I couldn’t see it so it was kind of tough,” said Johnson after shooting 66. “What a cool way to end.”

Having held a share of a five-shot lead with Andrew Putnam heading in to the final round, DJ looked in a good position to claim his second title of the year as his playing partner double bogeyed the first hole to hand Johnson a two-shot advantage. 

By the third hole a two-putt birdie saw his lead increase to three shots, remaining that way as both players dropped shots on the 5th. Putnam’s solitary birdie of the round came two holes later to narrow the gap to two shots, but he wouldn’t come any closer than that for the remainder of the round. 

Holding a two-shot lead on the 12th hole, Johnson appeared to be on the verge of letting Putnam back into the tournament when his putt from 54 feet came up 15 feet short of the hole. Instead, he rolled in the putt to keep his lead, and birdied the 13th to increase it to three. 

“That was a big putt,” Johnson said. “That kind of gave me the boost I needed to finish out the round. Sometimes those par putts are just as big if not bigger than the birdie putts. Kind of gave me the extra boost I needed to finish the round.”

“I felt like I struggled quite a bit with the putter the last three or four events. To come here and to play the way I did, I felt like I putted better this week.”

With a healthy lead and noone able to put pressure on the leader, Johnson recovered from finding trees off the 16th tee to make birdie before holing out from a 169-yards with a nine iron for eagle at the last.

And for DJ, playing the way he did is a big confidence booster heading in to the second major of the year. 

“Winning this week I think is a bigger confidence booster than being No. 1 in the world,” Johnson said.

“Playing the way I did all week, knowing everything that was on the line gives me a lot of confidence. I think it was a big win, it was a big statement.”

Putnam finished in solo second six shots back, and four clear of J.B Holmes in third. 

WITB: Dustin Johnson 

Driver: TaylorMade M4 (9.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 Evolution 2.0 Tour Spec X

3 Wood:  TaylorMade M4 (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 95 6.5

Irons: TaylorMade DJ Proto (3-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52-09SB, 60 degrees), TaylorMade Hi-Toe (64 degrees)
Shaft: KBS Tour Black 120S

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Black
Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0

Golf Ball: TaylorMade TP5x