Zach Johnson added Pebble Beach Golf Links to his list of victories at iconic courses by capturing the PURE Insurance Championship on Sunday in Monterey, Calif.
Johnson shot 7-under-par 65 to finish at 14-under 202 and win by two strokes at the tournament, which was split for the first two rounds between Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
His sixth win in his 15th event of his rookie season followed a victory last week at the Sanford International in Sioux Falls, S.D. He broke a tie with Stewart Cink on Sunday for most wins this season.
The 50-year-old Iowa native’s instant success on the PGA Tour Champions followed a long PGA Tour career with 12 victories, including major titles at the 2007 Masters at Augusta National and the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland.
“To add this majestic spot to the list of wins is, again, my dreams never got that far,” Johnson said. “Let’s just be blunt. I’ve got an attitude of gratitude right now. I never thought I’d ever amount to this, but that’s the beauty of this game and the beauty of, like I said, surrounding yourself around like-minded, good people. I’m a product of them. So Pebble Beach, it’s amazing. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d be here.”
Johnson eagled the par-5 No. 2 and collected birdies at Nos. 5, 6, 9, 11, 13 and 18 while giving one back with a lone bogey at the par-3 seventh hole.
He was 6 under for the day and 13 under for the tournament when he reached the final hole, the 533-yard, par-5 18th, with a one-stroke lead. Johnson drove the green in two shots, then two-putted from 35 feet with a 3-footer for birdie.
“I mean, obviously you never know, but I was extremely confident with the way I was swinging (the driver), certainly confident with the parameters with which we had,” Johnson said. “Obviously, I knew where I stood. At the same time, it’s probably my biggest weapon in my bag as far as attacking a golf course.”
Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini and New Zealand’s Steven Alker tied with tour rookie Henrik Stenson of Sweden for second place at 12 under.
Sabbatini’s bogey-free 9-under 63 on Sunday, which moved him up 16 spots, was the low round of the tournament. He hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation and made nine birdies to lead the field in both categories.
Alker shot 5-under 67 on Sunday, with birdies at Nos. 4, 11, 13, 16 and 18 in a bogey-free round.
Stenson countered his bogey at the par-4 No. 8 with birdies at Nos. 5, 6, 10, 17 and 18.
South Korea’s Y.E. Yang, who led after the first round and shared the lead with Stenson and Ryan Armour after two, shot 71 and finished sixth at 9 under. Armour (70) was alone in fifth at 10 under.
Cink (67), the leader in the Charles Schwab Cup points standings, tied for ninth at 7 under.
