Rain Gives Johnson Win At Pebble Beach, Weir Second
17/02/2009 00:03
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Dustin Johnson walked out the door and into the rain Monday morning, still expecting to show up on the first tee with a four-shot lead to play the final round at Pebble Beach.
He won not with a big drive or a clutch putt, rather a phone call.
"It was Michael Letzig, one of my buddies out here," Johnson said. "I was walking out the door to go have breakfast. He called to congratulate me and I didn't know what he was talking about."
Some 40 hours after hitting his last shot of the tournament, Johnson won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when rain washed out the final round for the second straight day.
Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., had to settle for second.
Pebble Beach was soaked by enough rain to create a tiny river in one fairway and produce puddles on most of the greens. It was the first rain-shortened tournament on the PGA Tour in nearly three years, and the first 54-hole event at Pebble Beach since the late Payne Stewart also hit the winning shot on Saturday in 1999.
And it was historic for at least one reason.
"I've never won a tournament in tennis shoes," said Johnson, who came to the course to collect his trophy, thank the rain-soaked volunteers and grasp the timing of his great week, even if he only got in three rounds.
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SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It must be nice to be able to win a tournament without even leaving the club house for the final round.