Dustin Johnson powered to a five-shot victory in the Genesis Open, his long-sought first win at Riviera Country Club propelling him to number one in the world. Pulling double duty in the weather-disrupted U.S. PGA Tour event, Johnson used his formidable length off the tee and a sure putting stroke to build a big lead and held on down the stretch. On a marathon final day he produced a third-round 64 and a final round of even par 71 for a 17-under par total of 267.
He led by as many as nine strokes before a few late miscues, but with the win will end Australian Jason Day's 47-week reign atop the rankings.
"Growing up as a kid playing golf, the dream is to play on the PGA Tour and I never really thought about being number one in the world," Johnson said.
"But once I got on tour and started winning some and got up in the top 10 in the world, I knew it was definitely do-able, and here I am. "Made it to number one. It's going to just push me to keep working harder and stay there," added Johnson, who now can boast at least one win in 10 straight seasons.
