Dustin Johnson returned to No. 1 in the world with an exclamation point.
DJ holed out from 171 yards for an eagle at No. 18 to cap a 4-under-par 66 that gave him a six-stroke victory over Andrew Putnam in the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tenn.
“It was a cool way to end the day with that shot on 18,” said Johnson, who claimed his second victory of the season, the 18th of his PGA Tour and regained the top ranking from Justin Thomas. “I played well all week and a lot of good things happened.
“I was a little flat to start the day and couldn’t get anything going, but then I made a nice putt for par at No. 12. That got me going and I hit a lot of good shots coming in. It was great to be back in the hunt. It was only a few months, but it seemed like a long time.
“ … My game is in good shape (going into the U.S. Open this week at Shinnecock Hills).”
Johnson, whose last victory came in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, carded a winning score of 19-under 261 to win the St. Jude Classic second time—the other coming in 2012.
Putnam, the former Pepperdine star who was playing in the final group for the first time in his PGA Tour career and bidding for his initial victory on the circuit, closed with a 72 after starting the round tied for the lead with Johnson.
“I’m still proud of the way I played,” said Putnam, the 2010 Pacific Coast Amateur champion. “I learned a lot and I feel like I played better than my score today. This will help me moving forward.”
J.B. Holmes made two late birdies for a 67 and finished 10 shots back in third, while Stewart Cink sank a five-foot eagle putt at No. 16 in a 72 that left him 11 down in a tie for fourth with Richy Werenski, who totaled 71.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa shot 66 to wind up 12 strokes behind in a tie for sixth with Austin Cook (65), Chris Kirk (69), Brandt Snedeker (70), Trey Mullinax (70) and Chez Reavie (71).
Phil Mickelson, who hopes to finally complete the Career Grand Slam with a victory at Shinnecock Hills, warmed up for the effort with a 65 to tie for 12th.
For compete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.
