The fourth event of the LIV Golf Series is on the books and Dustin Johnson emerges victorious. After 54 holes played, the American had to go into a playoff together with the newcomers Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri, which he won on the first hole. New star signing Cameron Smith shared fourth place at his premiere, while Bernd Wiesberger and Martin Kaymer lost places on the final day of the tournament.
LIV Golf: Dustin Johnson becomes first American winner of tournament series
Dustin Johnson, Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri were in the lead after completing three rounds at 15 under par. It was time for the first playoff in the young history of the LIV Golf Invitational Series. “DJ” had previously had several chances to score -16, but he only managed pars on his last five holes. So it went into a three-way playoff and Johnson proved his skills on the first hole and holed an eagle. Even if he gave his ball a little too much momentum, it fell into the hole in the end and the American was able to smile about it afterwards: “Yes, the ball went a bit fast, but it had a good line. I have played well this week and I had some unlucky brakes the first time here so the course kind of owed me something and I’ve gotten that.”
DJ EAGLE FOR THE WIN!!! #LIVGolf #LIVGolfBoston @DJohnsonPGA pic.twitter.com/O5CffhnVQ7
— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) September 4, 2022
But his final round was also impressive, in which Johnson played to the top with six birdies and only one bogey. The two LIV newcomers Joaquin Niemann and Anirban Lahiri also showed good golf on Sunday and earned a deserved chance of winning the playoff. Like Johnson, Lahiri recorded six birdies on his final 18 holes and an equal on hole 8 was also on the Indian’s scorecard at the end. Bogeys on lanes 1 and 7 resulted in a 64 round at the end. Niemann also played a solid round with 66 strokes on Sunday and only lost a single stroke. Five birdies also catapulted him to the top and, together with his opponents, sent him into the first playoff of the league led by Greg Norman. In the end, the two newcomers lost out and “DJ” celebrates his first win of the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Dustin Johnson’s win also marks the first American win in the tournament series.
WHAT A WIN!!! ???? @DJohnsonPGA #LIVGolf #LIVGolfBoston pic.twitter.com/sitDRurtv8
— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) September 4, 2022
In the team classification, Johnson’s “4 Aces” also achieved the third win in a row. Talor Gooch, Dustin Johnson, Pat Perez and Patrick Reed had every reason to celebrate, as Johnson explained in the winner’s interview: “Three wins in a row for the team and then the first win for me. That feels very good “. Second place in the team ranking was secured by the “Crushers” with second-placed Lahiri ahead of the “Majesticks” with captain Lee Westwood. Incidentally, the same player played the lowest round in LIV history on Sunday in Boston. Ten birdies with only two bogeys make the bottom line eight under par – a record!
Lowest round in LIV Golf history ????#LIVGolf #LIVGolfBoston @WestwoodLee pic.twitter.com/nWwo1ybc9h
— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) September 5, 2022
Wieberger and Kaymer lose places on the final day, newcomer Smith on T4
Bernd Wiesberger, who was among the top five players in the leaderboard on the first two days, had to accept by far his weakest round of the tournament on the final day. There were four bogeys on the Austrian’s scorecard, which is why he fell back to a shared 17th place in the leaderboard in the third round. Back-to-back birdies on holes 7 and 8 only marginally improved his score, so the Austrian finished the event in the US state of Massachusetts after 54 holes with a score of six under par.
Martin Kaymer only got even par on the final day of the Boston event and also lost a few places in the leaderboard as a result. The German, who according to Golf Digest will not be teeing off at Wentworth, recorded four birdies and as many bogeys on Sunday. This put Kaymer on a shared 21st place and ended the tournament in midfield. In the team classification things are going even worse for the man from Mettmann, as the “Cleeks” led by him only end up in the penultimate place.
Final team standings from an ⚡️final round in Boston#LIVGolf #LIVGolfBoston pic.twitter.com/tgILCD3QvM
— LIV Golf (@LIVGolfInv) September 5, 2022
For LIV newcomer Cameron Smith, despite a strong final round, it was no longer enough to participate in the playoff, let alone win. For a long time things looked very good for the Australian, who shot clean up to his penultimate hole and was able to make up a few shots to date. In addition to six birdies, Smith also managed an equal on lane 8, which gradually pushed him towards the top of the leaderboard. However, a failed tee shot at the penultimate hole took away his hope of the playoff. In the end, Smith was happy with his first LIV appearance and is already looking forward to the upcoming tournaments: “It was great today. The competition is fantastic, it’s loud here, it feels like the course has a heartbeat and I love this. I can’t wait to continue.”
The highlights of the final round of the Boston Event