Published July 17, 2008 on February 8, 2021

Dominant DJ Claims Second Saudi Triumph

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Dustin Johnson earned his second Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers title in three years after holding off the chasing pack to secure a two-stroke victory at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

 

The World Number One started the day with a two-stroke advantage, and he was pushed all the way by playing partner Victor Perez and compatriot Tony Finau, who briefly pulled level with Johnson on the back nine. 

 

The reigning Masters Champion closed out the victory by responding to his only dropped shot of the day at the 16th with a birdie at the 17th to finish with a closing two-under-par round of 68 for a winning 15 under total.

 

“It’s tough to win on the European Tour, PGA Tour, no matter what ranking you are. But yeah, obviously winning as Number One is definitely good, and obviously, it gives me a little bit more of a lead. It gives me a lot of confidence going in for the rest of the year. Obviously, we’re at the beginning of the year, so pleased with how I’m playing and looking forward to the rest of the year,” said Johnson.

 

Finau marked his debut in Saudi Arabia with a tie for second place on 13 under par with England’s Justin Rose, whose joint runner-up result is his best European Tour finish since he won the 2018 Turkish Airlines Open. A shot further back in a tie for fourth place on 12 under par was Scotland’s Calum Hill, who secured his best European Tour result to date, and France’s Perez, whose challenge was effectively ended by a double-bogey five on the 16th as he signed for a 69.

 

The triumph is Johnson’s first victory since winning his first Green Jacket at the Masters Tournament in November and continues his excellent record in Saudi Arabia after winning the maiden edition of the event in 2019 before finishing second to Graeme McDowell in 2020.

 

“I don’t get to play around the world as much as I’d like to, but yeah, it’s definitely nice to get a win [not on the PGA Tour]. After Augusta, to get my first win again, obviously, the game’s still in really good form, and I’m really excited about the rest of the year,” Johnson concluded.

 

Final round scores

265 D JOHNSON (USA) 67 64 66 68, 
267 J ROSE (ENG) 68 66 68 65, T FINAU (USA) 68 65 67 67, 
268 C HILL (SCO) 65 68 68 67, V PEREZ (FRA) 67 66 66 69, 
269 R H?JGAARD (DEN) 70 69 68 62, R FOX (NZL) 65 65 71 68, V HOVLAND (NOR) 68 66 67 68, T HATTON (ENG) 67 67 66 69, 
270 T PIETERS (BEL) 65 71 68 66, G COETZEE (RSA) 66 70 65 69, 
271 S CROCKER (USA) 68 72 65 66, P CASEY (ENG) 69 68 67 67, K KITAYAMA (USA) 67 68 68 68, D HORSEY (ENG) 61 71 69 70, S GARCIA (ESP) 70 67 64 70, S KJELDSEN (DEN) 69 66 65 71, 
272 B DECHAMBEAU (USA) 65 70 68 69, I POULTER (ENG) 67 69 67 69, M KAYMER (GER) 67 68 66 71, 
273 C SHARVIN (NIR) 70 69 66 68, C PAISLEY (ENG) 68 67 69 69, K NA (USA) 69 63 71 70, S GALLACHER (SCO) 62 68 72 71, L CANTER (ENG) 66 68 68 71, 
274 A ROZNER (FRA) 67 67 72 68, T FLEETWOOD (ENG) 68 65 73 68, S BROWN (ENG) 68 67 73 66, 
275 M KIEFFER (GER) 71 67 67 70, R MACINTYRE (SCO) 71 68 65 71, S LOWRY (IRL) 70 67 67 71, M SOUTHGATE (ENG) 70 67 65 73, 
276 J WINTHER (DEN) 67 73 66 70, M KORHONEN (FIN) 66 70 71 69, W NIENABER (RSA) 71 67 67 71, R CABRERA BELLO (ESP) 69 69 69 69, A WU (CHN) 68 68 68 72, J DONALDSON (WAL) 72 67 69 68, G MIGLIOZZI (ITA) 68 67 74 67, A SULLIVAN (ENG) 66 66 68 76, 
277 J KOKRAK (USA) 70 67 69 71, J WALTERS (RSA) 68 68 70 71, J HARDING (RSA) 68 70 68 71, J MORRISON (ENG) 67 73 67 70, M SCHWAB (AUT) 68 72 67 70, J LUITEN (NED) 67 66 75 69, D BURMESTER (RSA) 69 71 68 69, K APHIBARNRAT (THA) 73 67 68 69, J VEGAS (VEN) 66 74 68 69, 
278 J SURI (USA) 69 67 70 72, M KAWAMURA (JPN) 66 71 68 73, L WESTWOOD (ENG) 67 70 67 74, 
279 C BEZUIDENHOUT (RSA) 68 69 69 73, T KANAYA (JPN) 67 71 69 72, R FISHER (ENG) 69 70 68 72, F ZANOTTI (PAR) 66 71 67 75, P MICKELSON (USA) 68 67 72 72, B WIESBERGER (AUT) 64 68 71 76, M PAVON (FRA) 68 72 67 72, T DETRY (BEL) 67 70 71 71, P LARRAZ?BAL (ESP) 69 71 69 70, A ANCER (MEX) 71 69 70 69, 
280 W ORMSBY (AUS) 71 69 69 71, D WILLETT (ENG) 67 72 71 70, R MCGOWAN (ENG) 68 72 73 67, 
281 P REED (USA) 69 70 68 74, R STERNE (RSA) 69 70 68 74, O WILSON (ENG) 68 72 69 72, G MCDOWELL (NIR) 70 70 73 68, 
282 M KINHULT (SWE) 65 68 74 75, 
283 J HANSEN (DEN) 70 70 68 75, 
284 J JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 69 70 68 77, M LORENZO-VERA (FRA) 69 70 70 75, R LANGASQUE (FRA) 69 67 77 71, 
287 J GUERRIER (FRA) 70 70 73 74, 
288 D LAW (SCO) 70 70 69 79,