Final round: Another rookie blasts into winners' circle
VERONA, N.Y. (AP) -- When things went sour after his rookie year on the PGA TOUR started so well, Dustin Johnson did what every struggling golfer does.
"Me and my coach sat down about a month ago and set some goals," Johnson said. "I practiced hard and tried to get my game back."
It's back.
The long-hitting Johnson birdied the final two holes of the Turning Stone Resort Championship on Sunday, sinking an 8-foot putt on the final hole to beat Australian Robert Allenby by one shot for his first PGA TOUR victory.
"I started off the year really well and then I don't really know what happened," said the 24-year-old Johnson, who had two top-10s in his first four starts and then missed nine cuts and withdrew from two other events.
Johnson led the field in driving distance over the 7,482-yard Atunyote Golf Club course with a 303.7-yard average, but his breakthrough win was shocking. He was playing in a twosome with Allenby, who's won four times on tour and is ranked 12th in money, and Johnson entered play Sunday sporting a 72.86 final-round scoring average, 190th out of 202 players ranked.
"I was just excited to be out there and actually be in the hunt the last day," said Johnson, an All-American at Coastal Carolina and three-time Big South Conference player of the year. "I kind of looked at the whole Fall Series as my chance to move up the ladder on the (money) list."
Johnson (69) finished at 9-under 279 and pocketed $1.08 million of the $6 million purse, the richest of the Fall Series. That catapulted him from 128th to 41st on the PGA money list. The top 125 at the end of the year retain full exemption for 2009.
"It's kind of hard to explain. I haven't grasped everything yet," said Johnson, who had to sit and wait patiently until third-round co-leader Charles Howell III, the last man with a chance, hit his third shot at 18. "Right now I feel pretty good. I'm obviously very, very excited. Hopefully, it'll hit me a little bit later. I'll probably have to sit down and re-evaluate my goals."
Allenby (70), seeking his fifth victory and first since 2001, had a chance to tie at 18, but his 12-foot putt for birdie stopped inches short of the hole.
"I left everything short," said Allenby, who needed 126 putts on the four rounds. "Yesterday, I probably had the worst putting round of my life. I just lost my nerve with the putter. I tried to regain it, took the putter home last night and slept with it. All you can do is just give it your best."
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| TRIVIA QUESTION | ||
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| Sunday's Best |
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The par-5, 550-yard fifth was the easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.606.
The par-3, 230-yard 11th was toughest with a Sunday scoring average of 3.437.
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Aussie Mark Hensby had the shot of the day when he blasted out of the bunker for a birdie on the par-4 15th -- his second hole-out on that hole this week. 
J.J. Henry gets top honors for the final round with a 5-under 67. The bogey-free day moved Henry to 4 under for the week and into a top-20 finish. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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SMOOTHER SWING GIVES ALLAN A CHANCE AT SECURING CARD
By Bruce Berlet, Special to PGATOUR.COM
VERONA, N.Y. -- Some golfers are known to change putters and swings as often as socks.
Others can be stubborn as a several packs of mules.
List Steve Allan in the latter category.
Despite a season apparently headed into oblivion, the likable Aussie continued to refuse to take heed of a suggestion that swing coach Dale Lynch made four years ago: Swing slower, Steve, swing slower.
"I swing the club pretty fast," Allan said. "Swinging slow never felt comfortable on the course."
If only Allan had listened to his fellow Aussie from Melbourne sooner.
A 3-under-par 69, capped by his fourth birdie at No. 18, gave Allan a tie for third at 7-under 279 in the Turning Stone Resort Championship at Atunyote Golf Club Sunday.
The T3 came on the heels of a tie for fourth in the Viking Classic, the first leg of the PGA TOUR's Fall Series, and earned Allan $244,714, moving him to 139th on the money list with $545,995. Prior to the Viking Classic, where he won $148,800, Allan had missed 11 of 16 cuts and earned only $152,481.
But now Allan is within striking distance of the top 125 for the first time since 2004 thanks to Lynch's stick-too-itivness finally sinking in during a practice round for the RBC Canadian Open in late July. Allan said most people wouldn't notice his slowed-down takeaway, but it gives him better rhythm and technique.
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| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||||||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
XM Satellite Radio announcer Brett Wright offers these observations from Sunday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Nobody could separate themselves from the field on a brisk Sunday at the Turning Stone Resort Championship except Robert Allenby, and then only for a stretch of holes.
Before the round started, Robert Garrigus was on the putting green with his caddy Choo Choo, whom I refer to as that because of the unique train engineer's cap that he wears. Robert said he had been working on his putting, and it was starting to click. He went on to prove it and hold a share of the lead briefly, before bogies at the 7th and 8th sent him back to 6 under. He finished on a positive note with a birdie on the par-5 18 to tie for third place. When he putts well, look out.
| 5 | Number of events remaining in the Fall Series |
| 5 | Number of bogey-free final rounds |
| 69 | Final-round score shot by winner Dustin Johnson |
Ryuji Imada has had a wonderful season. I spoke with a fan who came here from Japan and remembered the incredible pressure that was leveled on Ryuji when he was 14 years old. He was featured on Japanese television as a great young golfer who was going to the United States to learn how to be the best. Her name was Yuri, and she remembered that and wanted to come and see the finished product. Ryuji has become a friend of Yuri and her husband, and they followed him all four days. Ryuji finished with a 69 to tie for third place.
There was a Japanese journalist who was flown over here to follow Ryuji in the final round. He told me that Ryuji is as big as to the Japanese population as Tiger Woods is to the American public. That is some kind of pressure. He is probably is always smiling over here because the magnifying glass mentality of our media is spread among many great players.
Jeff Overton hit the ball as well as anyone this week. He hits a low, left-to-right shot that is fun to watch and easy for him to control. I have never seen anyone play so well tee-to-green, hit good, aggressive putts and make nothing. I counted eight lip-outs over the four rounds. When he missed the hole -- he was all around it. Watch for him to break out in these last few fall events.
Dustin Johnson sat down with me 30 minutes after winning the tournament. I asked him what major purchase was on his mind. He said he did not know but he would buy something - he already bought a Yukon Denali this year. He had eyes as big as pancakes while we spoke. Since he started the day a struggling young professional trying to make the top 125 on the money list and ended the day within sight of the elite top 30 on the money list, I asked him what advice he might give to other young, first-year players in the same position he was in. He smiled and said "be patient ... keep working on your game and be patient."
I also asked him if he and Robert Allenby had any conversation in the final round, and he responded: "We talked about fishing a little bit, but after that it was game on."
I have a feeling we are going to hear a lot more from Dustin down the line.
TURNING STONE RESORT CHAMPIONSHIP: FINAL-ROUND NOTEBOOK
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff
• Davis Love III's tie for third is his best outing since winning the 2006 Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. Throughout his career, he has 19 wins, 29 runner-up and 15 third-place finishes.
• Ryuji Imada carded a 3-under 69 on Sunday to finish in a seven-way tie for third place. Imada, who won the 2008 AT&T Classic, moves up to No. 12 on the TOUR money list.
• Both third-round leaders struggled on Sunday. Charles Howell III posted a 1-over 73 to tie for third, while Tag Ridings finished tied for 27th after a 7-over 79.
• The third-round leader/co-leader has now won exactly half (21) of the 42 stroke-play events on the 2008 PGA TOUR, including most recently Camilo Villegas at the BMW Championship.
• Seven Australians finished inside the top 20 this week, including Robert Allenby (second), Mathew Goggin (tied for third), Steve Allan (tied for third), Nick O'Hern (tied for 10th), Steve Elkington (tied for 15th), Mark Hensby (tied for 15th) and Jason Day (tied for 19th).
• None of the players managed to record all four rounds in the 60s this week. Michael Allen, in 2007, is the only player to perform the feat in the two-year history of the Turning Stone Resort Championship.
• Robert Allenby led the field this week in greens in regulation (60 of 72), while Olin Browne hit the most fairways in regulation (51 out of 56). Richard Johnson led the field in putting, with 26.75 putts per round.
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• To read the remainder of these notes, click here.
| TRIVIA ANSWER | ||
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