DJ holds all the aces in Vegas – Golf News

Dustin Johnson captured his third particular person title on the LIV Golf circuit after capturing 12 underneath par for 3 rounds at Las Vegas Country Club in Nevada.

At one level throughout Saturday’s ultimate spherical, six gamers had been tied for the lead, however Johnson battled again from three bogeys halfway by his spherical to supply three birdies in his final six holes – together with the decisive one on the seventeenth – to drag away from a three-way tie with Talor Gooch and Peter Ulhein with a ultimate spherical 69 on the par-70 course.

TOUGH SCORING CONDITIONS

Johnson was the one one of many three gamers within the ultimate group to interrupt par, as Jon Rahm shot level-par 71 and Bryson DeChambeau a three-over 74. Gooch (67) and Ulhein (69) shared second place on 11 underneath, with Matthew Wolff simply lacking out on a podium spot when ending one stroke again in fourth.

“At the moment was powerful, given the climate, but it surely’s an important win,” stated Johnson, who leads the person standings after simply two occasions. “This 12 months I’ve acquired somewhat extra drive and dedication following final season’s outcomes, as a result of I don’t get pleasure from not enjoying effectively.”

Gusty winds and chilly situations made the ultimate spherical difficult for all of the gamers within the shotgun format, with simply 17 of the 54 managing to breaking par, whereas the sector stroke common greater than three pictures greater than the earlier two rounds.

MCDOWELL HELPS SMASH WIN TEAM EVENT

Within the workforce occasion, Smash GC’s dominant efficiency in Saturday’s ultimate spherical – the place all 4 gamers’ scores now depend – allowed captain Brooks Koepka to have fun his fifth trophy of any variety since becoming a member of LIV Golf, whereas teammate Talor Gooch turned the primary participant to win trophies with three completely different groups.

With new signing Graeme McDowell capturing 65, Gooch 67 and Koepka and Jason Kokrak contributing 69s, Smash shot 10 underneath as a workforce for the ultimate spherical, whereas the opposite 12 groups had been a cumulative 66 over par.

McDowell, 44, who has a popularity for being a very good wind participant, thrived within the powerful situations, along with his six-under-par ultimate spherical rating being two strokes higher than some other participant, as he fuelled Smash’s late surge on the ultimate holes to interrupt open a good workforce leaderboard.

“I’ve been dwelling in Florida for about 15 years, however fortunately I nonetheless bear in mind the right way to play within the wind,” stated McDowell, who was the one participant to supply a bogey-free spherical on Saturday, lacking only one fairway and three greens. “My sport has actually been trending up for the final six months and I’m delighted to assist my workforce recover from the road.”

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. SMASH -33 (McDowell 65, Gooch 67, Koepka 69, Kokrak 69; Rd 3 rating: -10)
2. 4ACES -26 (Johnson 69, Perez 69, Varner III 70, Reed 72; Rd 3: E)
3. RANGEGOATS -24 (Uihlein 68, Wolff 69, Watson 72, Pieters 73; Rd 3: +2)
4. CRUSHERS -18 (Casey 68, Howell III 70, DeChambeau 74, Lahiri 74; Rd 3: +6)
5. LEGION XIII -16 (Surratt 68, Hatton 70, Rahm 71, Vincent 74; Rd 3: +3)
6. TORQUE -16 (Muñoz 68, Ortiz 69, Pereira 72, Niemann 74; Rd 3: +3)
7. MAJESTICKS -12 (Horsfield 67, Poulter 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72; Rd 3: -4)
8. FIREBALLS -12 (Garcia 70, Ander 71, Chacarra 71, Puig 71; Rd 3: +3)
9. CLEEKS -9 (Meronk 68, Samooja 68, Bland 71, Kaymer 76; Rd 3: +3)
10. RIPPER -9 (Jones 69, Leishman 70, Smith 72, Herbert 76; Rd 3: +7)
11. IRON HEADS -3 (Lee 70, Na 71, Vincent 71, Kozuma 75; Rd 3: +7)
12. STINGER +5 (Burmester 71, Grace 72, Oosthuizen 73, Schwartzel 80; Rd 3: +16)
13. HYFLYERS -13 (Mickelson 71, Tringale 72, Ogletree 77, Steele 80; Rd 3: +20)