Watch Dustin Johnson come painfully close to 433-yard hole-in-one
You will not see a better golf shot than one Dustin Johnson hit in the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.
On the par-4, 433-yard yard 12th hole, Johnson bombed a drive that rolled within inches of a hole-in-one, just missing a very rare “albatross.”
Is this guy even human?! pic.twitter.com/EQj2EYUWWn
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) January 8, 2018
Johnson’s ball was tracking toward the hole. If it rolled a few inches farther, it’s in the cup.
It was a thing of beauty.
With the aid of a 12-mile-per-hour wind at his back, Johnson’s drive carried about 300 yards, hit a downslope just off the fairway, kicked right and rolled onto the green, stopping inches from the hole.
DJ after nearly making an ace on a par 4. 🔊⬆️ pic.twitter.com/1Uu5vKDFmA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 8, 2018
As he walked down the fairway, he had no idea how good it was.
“I missed it a little … hit it a little thin, came up a little short,” he could be heard saying to his caddie.
KING OF KAPALUA! After Dustin Johnson’s runaway win in Hawaii, @Luke_Elvy caught up with the champion to get his thoughts on the trophy, his form and THAT drive at the 12th pic.twitter.com/SxGAl6J1qx
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) January 8, 2018
Imagine if he didn’t miss it a little?
“I knew in the air it was on a perfect line to get on the green,” Johnson said after the tournament, which he won for the second time in his career.
“Obviously, to get it that close to the flag I was a little bit lucky,” he added.
Johnson couldn’t see where the shot wound up, but he could hear the galleries yelling in the distance, so he knew it was close.
“But then about halfway down the fairway one of the media guys told me it was four inches away. Pretty sweet,” said Johnson.
Johnson nearly became just the second player to ever record a hole-in-one on a par-4 hole in a PGA Tour event. The only other time it happened was in 2001 at the Phoenix Open. Andrew Magee’s drive reached the green on the 332-yard 17th hole before the group ahead of him had finished putting.
Magee’s tee shot rolled onto the green, deflected off the putter of Curt Byrum, who didn’t see the ball coming while he was lining up a putt, and rolled into the cup.
Johnson finished Sunday with an 8-under 65. He turned a two-shot lead over Brian Harman at the start of the round into an 8-shot win, finishing 24-under for the event.
Jon Rahm, who shot a 4-under 69 on Sunday, finished second, while Harman was third.
Johnson was the only player in the field to shoot four rounds in the 60s.
“I knew I was playing well, and it’s a golf course I’m really comfortable on,” Johnson said. “I was really driving it well this week. I knew as long as I could keep doing that, I was going to do well.”
“If I can play like that every week, I’m going to win a lot of times,” he added.
For Johnson, the No. 1 ranked player in the world, it was the 17th PGA tour victory of his career. He earned $1.26 million for the win.
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