Dustin Johnson won the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami just over a month after returning to tournament golf.
The 30 year old American spent six months away from the game from August last year to sort out a reported drink problem, only returning to the PGA Tour at the beginning of February.
But the former Ryder Cup player has wasted no time in finding his form again, finishing fourth at Pebble Beach and then second at the Northern Trust, before winning the second WGC title of his career at Doral. Johnson came from five shots off the pace in the final round to win his ninth career title title from fellow Americans JB Holmes and Bubba Watson.
Johnson fired a three-under-par 69 to win the tournament, after Holmes stumbled to a three-over par 75 to throw away a five-shot lead. Masters champion Watson held a two-shot advantage with nine holes to play, but the big-hitting left hander hit bogeys on 11, 12 and 14 to slip back into third place by the time he parred the 18th.
“It means everything,” Johnson said. “It’s been a tough road, but I played really well. It feels awesome to get that ‘W’. I played great.”
The British contingent failed to land a blow at Doral, with an out of sorts Rory McIlroy finishing ninth on level par, one shot ahead of Danny Willett and Lee Westwood. Paul Casey finished 38th on four over, while Luke Donald and Ian Poulter tied for 49th on seven over, with Justin Rose 55th on nine over.
“The game’s just not quite there,” said McIlroy after his closing 72. “I’m tentative, and a little bit scared to play certain shots, because I feel like I can’t at the minute.”
McIlroy’s frustrations got the better of him during the second round, when he threw his 3-iron into the water after a poor shot on the eighth hole. The club was later retrieved by a diver, and Donald Trump, owner of Doral, returned the club to its owner the following day. “It was heat of the moment thing, and if it had of been any other club I probably wouldn’t have, but I didn’t need a 3‑iron for the rest of the round so I thought, why not?” the world No.1 explained.