Gritty Johnson tames gusty Las Vegas as Smash dominate team event

Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson rode a 17th hole birdie to his third individual LIV Golf League title with a 1 under par 69 in cold and gusty conditions at Las Vegas on Saturday as Smash GC dominated the final day’s proceedings for the team crown.

The result gave Johnson one win in each year of the Saudi Arabia-backed league after the 2022 Invitational event in Boston where he edged out Anirban Lahiri and Joaquin Neimann of Chile in a three-way playoff, and at Tulsa last year also in a shootout over Australian Cameron Smith.

For Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka too it was an event to remember as it fetched a fifth LIV Golf League trophy in all, while his new team mate Talor Gooch picked up a third title and became the first player to win trophies with three different teams, livgolf.com noted.

Johnson was locked in a three-way battle on Saturday with Gooch (Smash GC) and Peter Uihlein (RangeGoats GC) till he birdied the 17th hole and then dropped a par to close out the round with a 12 under 54-hole total. Besides being his third individual LIV Golf title, it was a tenth trophy in all with the 4Aces, which he has led since the inaugural 2022 season.

“It's a great win, and obviously today was tough,” said Johnson, who now leads the individual championship after the season’s first two events. “I knew it was going to be tough obviously with the conditions.

“This year I've got a little more drive and determination because I don't enjoy not playing well,” he added.

Johnson also had plenty of family to cheer him on to a 31st professional win. Besides his wife and parents, Johnson’s father-in-law, the legendary ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky, too was at Las Vegas.

“Obviously, I had my wife Paulina here and then mother, father-in-law, my dad was here, and obviously my brother is on the bag,” Johnson said. “So, it's always great when you have a bunch of friends and family around and you win.

“It doesn't seem like it happens that often, though, when you win when everyone is there. It was nice to get to enjoy that with them today, and hopefully we'll enjoy it a lot more.”

Gooch and Uihlein shared second place in 10 under totals as an expected challenge from Crushers GC captain Bryson DeChambeau and Legion XIII skipper Jon Rahm never materialised. Rahm (71) finished eighth and DeChambeau (74) took a share of ninth place at the Las Vegas Country Club.

Graeme McDowell, who joined Smash as a free-agent signee during the offseason, won his first trophy in 24 LIV Golf starts. “They keep handing me the trophy because I’ve never had one before,” said the 44-year-old later who won the 2010 US Open.

The gusty and chilly conditions made the final round a challenge and only 17 of 54 players broke par, while the field stroke average was more than three strokes higher than the previous two rounds. Northern Ireland’s McDowell, however, thrived in the tough conditions. His bogey-free 5-under 65 was two strokes better than anyone else in the field as he fired Smash GC’s late charge up the team leaderboard over the closing few holes.

“I've been living in Florida for about 15 years, but thankfully I still remember how to play in the wind,” he said. “The game has really been trending for the last six months.” With Gooch hitting a 67 and Koepka and Jason Kokrak adding 69s, Smash went 10 under while the other 12 teams combined to go 66 strokes over par.

Final Scores

1, Smash GC: -33 (McDowell 65, Gooch 67, Koepka 69, Kokrak 69) 2. 4Aces GC: -26 (Johnson 69, Perez 69, Varner III 70, Reed 72) 3. RangeGoats GC: -24 (Uihlein 68, Wolff 69, Watson 72, Pieters 73) 4. Crushers GC: -18 (Casey 68, Howell III 70, DeChambeau 74, Lahiri 74) 5. Legion XIII: -16 (Surratt 68, Hatton 70, Rahm 71, Vincent 74) 6. Torque GC: -16 (Muñoz 68, Ortiz 69, Pereira 72, Niemann 74) 7. Majesticks GC: -12 (Horsfield 67, Poulter 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72) 8. Fireballs GC: -12 (Garcia 70, Ander 71, Chacarra 71, Puig 71) 9. Cleeks GC: -9 (Meronk 68, Samooja 68, Bland 71, Kaymer 76) 10. Ripper GC: -9 (Jones 69, Leishman 70, Smith 72, Herbert 76) 11. Iron Heads GC: -3 (Lee 70, Na 71, Vincent 71, Kozuma 75) 12. Stinger GC: +5 (Burmester 71, Grace 72, Oosthuizen 73, Schwartzel 80)

13. HyFlyers GC: -13 (Mickelson 71, Tringale 72, Ogletree 77, Steele 80)