Johnson’s putt on the par-5 18th was going so fast, it might have gone about 6 feet from the hole. But he hit the back of the cup and dropped close to the front of the cup to beat Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri. Johnson raised his hand and put it down for an uppercut in slow motion instead of shaking hands with Austin Johnson, his brother and the best man. The win was worth $4 million to Dustin Johnson. With his team winning again, he has now won $9,962,500 in four events. “He was going a little fast, but it was a good line,” Johnson said with a big smile. “I got some unlucky breaks [on No. 18] the First time. He owed me one and I took it.”
1 Related LIV Golf’s first four-event playoff saw an otherwise sloppy finish from so many others who had a chance. Johnson, who closed with a 5-under 65, needed a birdie at the par-5 18th. His drive bounced into the right rough, his layup iron into the trees well to the left and he had to fight for par to join Lahiri (64) and Niemann (66) at 15-under 265. Lahiri hit a 5-foot iron on the 18th in regulation, and his would-be-winning eagle rolled around the right edge of the cup. Lee Westwood finished one shot out of the playoff after a 62 that included bogeys on two of his last three holes. He was close to winning when he rebounded from a bogey on No. 1 in the shotgun start with a short birdie at the par-3 second. He finished on No. 3 — a 352-yard hole and a great birdie opportunity. Westwood hit a lobe wedge that was so thick, it landed about 40 feet short of the pin and into a bunker. He launched weakly and missed the 18-foot coat. “The loin wedge was a little thick,” Westwood said. “Make 3 and I win the tournament, and I make 5. It’s a sick way to finish.” British Open champion Cameron Smith, among six players who recently signed with the Saudi-sponsored league, had a 63. He was also tied for the lead until he hit his tee shot into the trees on No. 1, his 17th hole. and you had to turn sideways. He played a bogeyman. Before Sunday, Dustin Johnson had not won since the Saudi Arabia International on February 7, 2021, when it was part of the European Tour schedule. Andy Lyons/Getty Images Smith tied for fourth with Westwood. Each earned just over $1 million. Johnson had not won since the Saudi International on February 7, 2021, when it was part of the European Tour schedule. The player who has been No. 1 more than anyone since Tiger Woods dropped out of the world’s top 15 when he signed with LIV Golf. Johnson has been part of the contending league since the start in early June outside London and has finished in the top 10 in all of them. “I had a chance to win every one,” he said. “That’s three in a row for the team and to get my first one feels good.” He walked off the 18th green holding a phone on a video call to his two sons. Lahiri and Nieman each earned just over $1.8 million for the playoff loss. He was among six players to sign with LIV Golf after the PGA Tour season ended. The next LIV Golf Invitational will be in two weeks in suburban Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms, best known for hosting the Solheim Cup in 2009.
