Johnson Bags Barclays Title

Dustin Johnson was not about to let the rain get in the way of his winning the title at the Barclays on Saturday. He did this with a 29 on the front nine at the Plainfield Country Club for the second straight day before closing with a 6-under-65 to get ahead of Matt Kuchar for the win.

Because of the Hurricane Irene, the tournament was shortened to 54 holes. Kuchar led in the third and final round, and had the rain affected the round, the tournament would have been reverted to 36 holes and Kuchar would have been declared the winner. The rain started pour with gusto right after Johnson made a bunker shot on the fourth hole but it stopped long enough for Johnson to make the final winning hole. This makes him the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win for every year on Tour right after college. This win also propels him to number 4 in the world rankings.

“We got lucky,” Johnson said. “The weather held up for us long enough.”

Johnson briefly took the lead by opening with back-to-back birdies before Kuchar made a birdie on the par-3 third. Johnson then missed the green but then drove into the bunker and held out for an eagle. The two players matched birdies on 5th, 7th, and 9th greens before Johnson managed to hole a 25-foot birdie on the 7th following this with a 12-foot putt on the 9th hole.