After winning the tournament in 2019, finishing 2nd in 2020, world number one Dustin Johnson still had the final say at Saudi International on the Royal Green G & CC.
The 36-year-old champion, king of the desert, pocketed in passing a nice check for 2.9 million euros.
This is the first time that a world number 1 has won a regular event on the European circuit (apart from the British Open) since Rory McIlroy in 2015. It was already in the Middle East, at the Dubai Desert Classic.
With a last card of 68 (-2), his worst of the week due to a putting to absent subscribers, "DJ" resisted the competition.
With a total of 265 (-15), he is two strokes ahead of Englishman Justin Rose and American Tony Finau (-13).
It must be said that due to windy conditions and devilishly placed flags, the birdies did not fall too much for the leading men on Sunday.
“It was a very good week.
I felt like I played well every day. ”
Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson, still impressive in his swing, could not read the greens during this 4th round.
He could have killed the tournament several times, but he missed "easy" putts and great birdie opportunities on the 10 and 11 hole, in particular.
“It was a very good week.
I felt like I played well every day.
I gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities.
I didn't putt as well as I would have liked, but well enough to get the win today.
The conditions were difficult, especially this Sunday, but I felt like I was hitting well.
So I gave myself a ton of chances.
I will now have to work a little more on putting when I return to the United States.
After Augusta, winning here gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year. ”
Victor Perez got stuck on hole 16
The always well placed but rarely winning, Tonny Finau put pressure on the winner of the Masters 2020, making three consecutive birdies from 11 to 13, before bogeys on the 16 and 17 shattered his title dreams.
The 35th World Cup Victor Perez has also long stood up to the undisputed patron of world golf.
Starting second with two strokes behind Dustin Johnson, the French number one thus played the win until the 16th hole.
The Tarbais even came back to a stroke of the leader thanks to a birdie at 15 (par 4).
But a double bogey on the 16 (par 3) was fatal to him in the race for victory.
In the end, a final card of 69 (-1) and a total of 268 (-12), for a nice 4th place, alongside the Scottish Calum Hill.
The Tarbais will still gain a few places in the world rankings and get closer to the top 30. It also made a good operation in the points race for qualifying for the Ryder Cup at the end of September.
The other tricolors are further in the standings.
The always consistent Antoine Rozner makes a solid last card of 68 (-2) for a 26th place at -2 overall.
The other survivors of the cut suffered on the other hand.
Matthieu Pavon is 53rd at -1 and Mike Lorenzo-Vera (+4), Romain Langasque (+4) and Julien Guerrier (+7) bring up the rear.