Johnson wins 2021 Saudi International with a sizzling two-under 68
Dustin Johnson successfully defended the Saudi International title for the second time in three years…
On Sunday, February 7, Dustin Johnson (DJ) took a two-stroke lead and claimed victory at the third Saudi International, held at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.
The Masters champion started the day four shots off the lead; he carded only a single bogey to three birdies during his final round on Sunday, cruising to a two-under 68.
His winning total of 15-under 265 (67-64-66-68) was two shots better than England’s Justin Rose (68-66-68-65) and fellow American Tony Finau (68-65-67-67). Rose tied with Finau as runner-up at 13-under.
Scotland’s Callum Hill eagled the par-five 18th to finish in a tie for fourth with France’s Victor Perez. Rasmus Hojgaard, Ryan Fox, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton finished in a four-way tie for sixth place on 11-under.
According to DJ’s interview with Sky Sports, he shared, “I saw the leaderboard a little bit, the guys were playing well but I kept giving myself a lot of chances.”
“I didn’t hole many of them but finally holed a really nice putt on 13th,” he added.
Time to hear the Champion’s thoughts ?#SaudiIntlGolf pic.twitter.com/2cXF2oiyKT
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) February 7, 2021
From there in, DJ continued to put on a solid performance despite a bogey on the par-three 16th. Following which, he responded with a birdie on the 17th before two-putting on the 18th for a two-shot win.
DJ has been a dominant figure at the Saudi International, having won the inaugural event in 2019 and finished runner-up to Graeme McDowell last year.
The Saudi International is the last of three events in the “Gulf Swing” that launches 2021 on the European Tour. The four-day tournament was headlined by the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Saudi stars such as Othman Almulla, Faisal Salhab, and Saud Al-Sharif.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, no spectators were present on the 18-hole championship golf course in King Abdullah Economic City.
The Saudi International is also the third professional golf tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia, which reflects an effort to further establish this international game in the Saudi sports environment. The two other tournaments are the Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi Ladies Team International.
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