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Johnson Goes The (Full) Distance
In 2009 Dustin Johnson won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in a rain-shortened 54 holes but he proved today that he could win the event over the full duration.
The 25-year old captured his third PGA Tour victory by with a slim one-stroke margin thanks to a timely birdie on the final hole, the famous par-five closer at Pebble Beach Golf Links. It took him 74 strokes of varying quality to finish up the tournament on Sunday but nothing mattered more than avoiding that 75th stroke for Dustin Johnson.
With J.B. Holmes, and most notably, David Duval, all finished up ahead of him at -15, Johnson required a birdie or better on the 543-yard final stanza. Facing soft turf conditions and a wind blowing almost straight into him he still managed to drive the ball past the signature fairway tree, leaving him just 235 yard to the hole on the par 5. From there he struck a bombed 3-iron into the front bunker where an exquisite extraction left him the 42-inch birdie putt he would convert for the win.
With his 270 total (64,68,64,74) Johnson (photo – Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) earned $1,116,000. The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina native also leaped to the lead in the FedEx Cup standings.
Having started the day tied for the lead with Paul Goydos at an impressive 18 under par, many suspected that the pair would be closely bunched in the final holes today but the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links had something to say about that. Their four stroke lead over the field evaporated quickly. Course conditions were tough and the small, undulating greens that require precise approach shots did not see very many on Sunday. Within the top ten finishers just three broke 70 in the final round.
It appeared early on that the plodding style of 18-year tour veteran Goydos might be the winning formula through the first half of the round. Despite being out driven by up to 50 yards or more ,in typical fashion Goydos found fairway after fairway on the front nine and stayed relatively mistake free. After Johnson made a sloppy double bogey on the difficult ninth hole Goydos was one clear of the field.
Then the back nine arrived.
Goydos looked anything but a veteran as he started the back nine at Pebble Beach. Bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes with a follow up birdie on 13 were simply a prelude to something that could only be described as a disaster.
Goydos and Johnson could be overhead discussing the strategy of playing the 573-yard, 14th hole, as they waited for Bryce Molder to make a quadruple bogey nine on the hole ahead of them. Goydos talked of the possibility to make a “big number” and he fulfilled that prophecy as he slapped the ball around the green on the way to a nine of his own. It lead to his back nine 42, a 78 total, and his removal from the possible win scenario.
In the meantime Johnson did not let the glitch on #9 affect him and took advantage of his power (he ranked #1 in driving distance for the week) to manage his way around the golf course. He did stumble on 12 and 17 with bogeys, eventually putting him in the tie for the lead as he stood on the 18th.
“During the rounds today I never felt like I was making any mistakes, but, you know, just nothing seemed to be going my way,” explained Johnson after the win. “Hitting two good shots on 18, I pushed my second shot a little bit, but it was in the front right bunker, which me and my caddie talked about, and it wasn't gonna be a bad spot to be. Got up-and-down to get the victory. Can't beat that.”
Even after making the mistake on #17 Johnson said he still had resolve on the final hole as he knew what he had to do to finish with a win. “You know, all you can ask for is a chance to win it on the last hole. I was in position. Obviously I wasn't playing the way I wanted to play today, but I was still right there. So, you know, nothing I had done all day mattered until — the only thing that mattered was that hole.”
Johnson said that even though he went the full distance for this year’s victory he does not rank it as better than last years. “Even though it was shortened last year, it's still a win and I still played great.”
While many fans were rooting on Johnson to take the back-to-back victories and join an elite group that have done so at Pebble Beach, there were plenty of golf fans following the David Duval story.
Duval, the former #1 player in the world was on the radar throughout the back nine today with his only blemish on the inward holes being a bogey on #14. A timely birdie on #17 gave him a great opportunity to push to the very top of the leader board on the last but a par left him waiting on the green for the possibility of extra hole. J.B. Holmes also made a par on 18 to put him in the same position. Johnson’s final stroke eclipsed all that.
Even so, Duval was content with his play. “I'm just pleased to get out of my golf game over the course of four days again what I feel like I should be getting out of it. I feel very comfortable and very confident in what I'm doing. And, you know, also, in a kind of strange way, it makes me proud. I feel like I kind of have given the folks who have given me starts this year good firepower for why they did it. That makes me feel good, too.”
Duval can take that great feeling to Mexico this coming week where he will play in MayaKoba Classic, the opposite field event to the Accenture Match Play.
With the February visit to Pebble Beach in the books some players can now look forward to seeing the golf course again this summer at the United States Open Championship. Dustin Johnson will be looking ahead to that major with great interest but he knows what he will face in June will be a different test than the one he has conquered in consecutive years. “It's gonna play different. Hopefully it'll be firm and fast. The rough's gonna be three times as long as it is right now knowing the USGA. So it's gonna play very difficult…”
Notes:
-Dustin Johnson, a TaylorMade staff player, uses a 60 degree Cleveland Classic wedge and a Scotty Cameron Prototype putter.
-Johnson used the TaylorMade 5-piece Penta ball for the win.
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This report provided to GolfWRX.com by Flagstick Golf Magazine (www.flagstick.com)
I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear
OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.
LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break
Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.
Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.
On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.
On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.
On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.
PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home
Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.
On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.
Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?
Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.
Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?
PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates
Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.
Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.
Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.
Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.
We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025
GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.
Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.
Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.
General Albums
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #2
- 2025 Wyndham Championship – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Scotty Kennon – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Austin Duncan – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Will Chandler – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kevin Roy – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ben Griffin – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Ryan Gerard – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Adam Schenk – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Kurt Kitayama – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Camilo Villegas – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matti Schmid – WITB – 2025 Wyndham Championship
Pullout Albums
- Denny McCarthy’s custom Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Swag Golf putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Karl Vilips TM MG5 wedges – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- New Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Matt Fitzpatrick’s custom Bettinardi putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
- Cameron putters – 2025 Wyndham Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX
7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Golfer proudly posts photo of ball mark on iron, receives immediate roasting
WITB Time Machine: Matthew Wolff’s winning WITB, 2019 3M Open
Oakmont Country Club bans Wyndham Clark over locker incident; Reveals specific conditions to earn reinstatement
Adam Scott puts Callaway blades in the bag at Wyndham Championship
Report: LIV star fires caddie and coach in shock shake up
Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’
The championship formula: How 3 key stats separate winners from the field
Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
