FORT WORTH, TEXAS |
Zach Johnson derailed
the Jason Dufner history express Sunday,
denying him his third victory in four starts with
a surprisingly nervous one-shot victory at the
Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Johnson posted a final-round 72 to complete
a 12-under-par 268 total, earning his second
win at the event in three years.
He took a three-shot lead to the 18th hole
and appeared to have won by three, but he
moved his ball mark on the final hole and failed
to replace it before putting out, a two-shot pen-
alty for violating Rule 20-7, which turned his
final-hole par into a double-bogey.
Dufner shot a final-round 74 for 269 while
Tommy Gainey was solo third (67-273) and Jim
Furyk fourth at 68-274.
Johnson’s final four-foot putt turned out
to be for the win, which he dedicated to his
longtime caddie Damon Green, whose father
passed away 10 days ago.
After the tournament, Johnson took the
blame for failing to replace his mark.
He also hit out of turn on the 18th
tee, which did not incur a penalty.
“That’s on me,” Johnson said.
“Damon was raking the bunker
and never saw me move
the coin and I
never moved it back. There were a lot adjectives
going through my head, lucky, fortunate, stupid,
but it’s a good thing I hit a solid putt.”
“It was certainly one of the weirdest fin-
ishes on the PGA Tour, but he played better
than me,” Dufner said. “He deserved the win. It
wasn’t bad luck on my part, it was bad play.”
The two-man duel turned on two watery
mistakes by Dufner, both when he either had
the lead or was tied.
After a short birdie miss on the par- 3 eighth
hole, which would have extended his lead on
Johnson to three shots, Dufner put his tee ball in
the rough on the par- 4 ninth. But from 107 yards,
his wedge approach came up short, bounced on
the bank, and rolled back in the water.
A mediocre chip and two putts left him with
a double-bogey and a tie with Johnson at 14
under.
After trading birdies and bogeys, the pair
was tied again coming to the par- 4 15th hole.
Dufner made his second watery flaw, the one
that cost him the tournament.
He put his tee shot in the bunker on the left
side of the fairway and then, with 142 yards to
the green, overshot his target. The approach hit
the slope and rolled into the water behind the
putting surface.
He chipped his fourth shot off the
green, put his fifth next to the pin and
missed from five feet for a triple-bogey 7.
“It’s tough,” Dufner said. “A lot harder
than finishing 40th every week. I have a new
appreciation for it.”
RESULTS
Art Stricklin
Zach Johnson’s final putt
ended up meaning more than
he thought it would after he
was assessed a late penalty.
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