Wild, Wet Ride Results In Travelers Championship Win For Johnson

CROMWELL, CT — A tee shot out of bounds, standing in a pond to hit a shot, an hourlong weather delay and having a past champion breathing down his neck was not enough to deter Dustin Johnson from hanging on to win the Travelers Championship for the first time.

Johnson, formerly the No. 1 ranked player in the world, had an unusual scorecard Sunday - six birdies and three bogeys - in a final-round 67 to finish at 19-under par, a stroke better than 2014 champion Kevin Streelman.

In notching the 21st victory of his career on the PGA Tour, Johnson became just the fourth player to post at least one win in each of his first 13 seasons on tour. The others are among the greatest golfers in the history of the game: Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer (17 each) and Tiger Woods (14).

It certainly wasn't easy for Johnson, who stood on the 13th tee at 20-under with a two-stroke advantage. His tee shot on the par-5 13th wound up barely out of bounds near the railroad tracks, resulting in a penalty stroke and eventually a bogey to drop to minus-19. He immediately recovered, dropping a 16-foot putt for birdie on 14, then pulled his tee shot on the drivable par-4 15th inside the hazard line, barely avoiding the pond.

Undeterred, he took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pant legs and stepped into the water to play his second shot. He missed the green, but was able to save par to maintain the lead. En route to the 16th tee, a siren sounded to pull the players off the course due to lightning in the area.

When play resumed, Johnson gave back another stroke on 16, hitting his tee shot into a bunker and missing a 30-foot par attempt to drop back to 19-under. He safely made par on 17, then blasted a 351-yard drive on the final hole, setting up an approach shot to 18 feet. Needing two putts to win, he slithered a putt to within three inches, then tapped in to clinch his first Tour win since the WGC - Mexico Championship in Feb. 2019.

"Obviously you're in the moment, you're playing, you've already played 15 holes, and then you've got to stop and wait to go finish," he said following the round. "16 was a tough pin over there, but obviously I wasn't trying to hit anywhere near it. And then 17, the tee ball is difficult. You know, I knew what I needed to do, but sitting there, you're cold, you're coming out, you start on a par-3, it was difficult. But I managed to get it done."

Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open champion who is currently sixth in the Official World Golf Rankings, earned $1.332 million from the total purse of $7.4 million.

View complete final results here.

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