Johnson Retains Pebble Title

Dustin Johnson won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for the second year in succession when he sunk a three-foot putt on the final green.

His birdie at the 18th took him out of a three-way tie with David Duval and JB Holmes to lift the title despite carding a final round 74 on a day of indifferent scoring.

Johnson held the overnight lead with playing partner Paul Goydos with the pair four strokes clear of the chasing pack which included Holmes - Duval a further two adrift.

Goydos was out in level par to take the lead outright with Johnson dropping a shot at the opening hole, and while he eagled the sixth he gave both shots back by double-bogeying the ninth when he missed from less than three feet.

Duval, without a victory since 2001, made steady headway through the field though, birdies at 11 and 13 taking him to three under for the day.

The leaders continued to falter, Johnson dropping another shot at the 12th while Goydos had a meltdown at the difficult 14th, running up a nine that took him right out of contention after twice failing to reach the putting surface from the fringe.
Pressure

Duval holed from 10 feet at the 17th to get to 15-under and with Holmes reaching the same mark with a tap-in birdie a hole behind, Johnson was feeling the pressure.

He failed to get up and down from sand at 17, but with both Duval and Holmes missing birdie attempts at the final hole, the defending champion knew a four at the last would give him the title once again.

And with his superior length from the tee he was able to find the greenside bunker in two at the par-five, and this time he chipped out to easy birdie range and confidently holed the putt to claim a third title on the PGA Tour.

"It was a long day," Johnson said. "I had a short putt which is what you want to win a tournament."

Johnson has now won a tournament in each of his first three years since joining the PGA Tour in 2008, a feat only matched by Tiger Woods in recent times.

"I certainly try and win every week I am out here," he added. "I'm playing well right now."

Phil Mickelson went round in 71 to finish in a tie for eighth while Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington showed solid form on the course that will host the US Open later this year, the Ryder Cup duo finishing on nine under par for a share of 16th.