Golf roundup: Dustin Johnson pulls off a stunner over Jordan Spieth in Northern Trust

Dustin Johnson faced long odds all day against Jordan Spieth until the longest drive led to an unlike playoff victory Sunday in The Northern Trust.

Johnson rallied from a five-shot deficit on the front nine. And on the final hole in regulation, after one of the most powerful players in golf chose to lay up from the rough, his 18-foot par putt swirled around the cup and fell in the back side for a 4-under 66 to force a sudden-death playoff.

Returning to the 18th hole, Johnson felt the wind switch and took on the lake with a 341-yard tee shot — the longest of the week on that hole — that left him a lob wedge that he hit to 4 feet.

Spieth, who already made his share of big putts along the back nine at Glen Oaks, hit 7-iron to the back collar and missed his 25-foot birdie putt. Johnson rolled in his short birdie putt for his fourth victory of the year.

Spieth, who closed with a 69, lost for the first time in six tries when leading by at least two shots. There wasn’t much he could do except take back that tee shot into the water on the par-3 sixth hole after building a five-shot lead. Johnson played bogey-free in the final round, and played his final 29 holes at par or better.

“I didn’t lose the tournament,” Spieth said. “He won it.”

The opening FedEx Cup playoff event featured two of the biggest names in golf who put on an amazing show on Long Island.

“I thought that was a fun show,” Spieth said. “I was hoping it wasn’t going to be that much fun.”

Johnson made up a five-shot deficit in five holes, and they battled along the back nine with big shots and big moments. They were tied on the par-3 17th when both hit into a bunker, and Johnson blasted out to 4 feet with an easier shot and angle to the hole. Spieth had 18 feet for par and knocked it in, like he always seems to do.

On the closing hole, Johnson showed the kind of golf I.Q. that belies his simple outlook on life. After he sliced his drive up the hill and into a nasty lie in the rough, he chose to lay up instead of trying to hammer a shot to an elevated green.

But he made it pay off with a par, that got him into the playoff after Spieth lagged a 75-foot putt perfectly to get his par.

They finished at 13-under 267.

Johnson won for the first time since he wrenched his back during a spill down the stairs that knocked him out of the Masters and derailed his dominance in golf. He had won three straight tournaments against strong fields until that injury.

“I feel like the game is finally back in form like it was before the Masters,” Johnson said.

Of his 16 victories, this was the first time Johnson faced a must-make putt on the final hole, and he delivered a par putt that even Spieth thought was going to miss on the high side of the hole.

The Northern Trust never looked as though it would contain so much drama.

Spieth began with a three-shot lead. He two-putted from long range for birdie on the par-5 third hole when Johnson, from closer range but putting from off the green, took three to get down for a par. And then the fifth hole felt like a dagger — Spieth poured in a 30-foot birdie putt, and Johnson missed his birdie from 8 feet.

That gave Spieth a five-shot lead — no one else was closer than seven — and it seemed even larger because Johnson wasn’t making any putts.

Five holes later, they were tied.

Spieth’s tee shot on the next hole banged off the rock wall and into the water on the par-3 sixth, and he made double bogey. On the ninth hole, Spieth took three putts from just off the left side the green, and Johnson made a 7-foot birdie putt for another two-shot swing.

Johnson began the back nine with an 8-foot birdie, and they were tied.

The closest Johnson came to taking the lead was a 15-foot eagle attempt that narrowly missed. Spieth regained the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the 14th, and Johnson tied him again from 18 feet on the next hole.

It was great theater, even before a crowd not nearly as large as other courses used in the rotation, and it lasted all the way until the end.

No one else really had a chance.

Jon Rahm ran off three straight birdies early on the back and briefly was one shot behind, though he had stronger holes ahead of him and fell back. Jhonattan Vegas was within two shots after playing the scoring holes.

Otherwise, it was a matter of who finished among the top 100 in the FedEx Cup to move on to the TPC Boston next week for the next playoff event.

Bubba Watson shot a 70 and tied for 10th, to become one of eight players to qualify for the second playoff event all 11 years of the FedEx Cup. David Lingmerth, who started at No. 103, overcame a 40 on the front nine for a 73 to tie for 29th and move into the top 100.

Harold Varner III, not even among the top 125 going into the final regular-season event last week, made it to New York and then tied for 20th to crack the top 100.

The three players who moved into the top 100 were the fewest since two advanced in 2007 when the FedEx Cup began.

Sung Hyun Park rallies to win CP Women’s Open

Sung Hyun Park added the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open title to her U.S. Women’s Open crown with a comeback victory Sunday at Ottawa Hunt.

Park birdied the final hole for a 7-under 64 and a two-stroke victory over fellow South Korean player Mirim Lee. Four strokes behind leaders Nicole Broch Larsen and Mo Martin entering the round, Park finished at 13-under 271. She won the U.S. Women’s Open last month in New Jersey for her first LPGA Tour title.

Michelle Wie withdrew before the round and was taken to Ottawa Hospital for surgery to remove her appendix. Wie was tied for 23rd, six strokes back entering the day.

Larsen had a 70 to drop into a tie for third at 10 under with Cristie Kerr (69), In Gee Chun (70), Shanshan Feng (68) and Marina Alex (68). Martin was another stroke back after a 72.

Canadian star Brooke Henderson followed her course-record 63 with a 71 to tie for 12th at 7 under. The 19-year-old major champion is from nearby Smiths Falls.

Julian Suri claims 1st European Tour title with Denmark win

Julian Suri carded a final round of 64 to win the Made in Denmark event on Sunday and claim his first European Tour title in just his seventh appearance.

The American fired seven birdies and no bogeys at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort to finish 19 under and four shots clear of overnight leader David Horsey, who triple-bogeyed the final hole.

“This is the reason why you get up early every morning to practice, go to the gym and get prepared to succeed,” said the 26-year-old Suri, who won the D+D REAL Czech Challenge in May and becomes the third American to win on the European Tour and Challenge Tour after U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein.

Chris Paisley, Steve Webster and Ben Evans shared third place on 13 under, with 51-year-old John Daly who was trying to become the oldest winner in European Tour history finishing in a tie for 10th after a closing 71.

The final round developed into a head-to-head battle between playing partners Horsey and Suri, who began the day two shots behind but raced into the lead with five birdies in a front nine of 31.

Horsey, who was looking to win the event for the second time in three years, got back on level terms with birdies on the 11th and 12th and both birdied the 14th to remain well clear of the chasing pack.

Suri then struck the decisive blow with a birdie from 20 feet on the 15th and victory was assured when Horsey lost a ball following a wild drive on the 18th and found a water hazard with his second attempt.

“To have seven birdies and be bogey-free in the final round was really solid,” Suri said. “There was no wind and with all the rain last night there were going to be a lot of birdies. I have an aggressive mentality so I feel like that played right into my hands.

“I feel like my game belongs at the top of the game. This is definitely something I’ve worked for and kind of expected for a long time. But to finally come out and do it, especially after the string of good finishes this summer, is really special.”

Jerry Kelly wins Boeing Classic for first senior title

Jerry Kelly won the Boeing Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions title, closing with a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke victory over Jerry Smith.

Kelly tied Smith for the lead with a birdie on the par-4 16th and moved ahead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. After Smith left an 8-foot birdie try short on the par-5 18th, Kelly pulled his 3 1/2-foot birdie attempt to the left and tapped in for the winning par.

Kelly had a tournament-record 19-under 197 total at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge. He opened with a 65 for a share of the lead and had a 66 on Saturday to take a three-stroke advantage into the final round. The three-time PGA Tour winner from Madison, Wisconsin, was making his 13th senior start after turning 50 in November.

Smith closed with a 64.

Bernhard Langer (65) and Billy Mayfair (66) tied for third at 16 under. Langer won the event in 2010 and 2016. He has a tour-high four victories this year, winning three of the tour’s five majors.

Colin Montgomerie (66) was fifth at 15 under.

Local favorite Fred Couples tied for 20th at 8 under after a 70.