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1. Everybody knows Dustin Johnson is a big-hitter. To say that is to say nothing new. However, even by his own high (or should that be long?) standards, what DJ did at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday night truly eye-popping. In the third of his round-robin matches, the world No.1 and defending champion launched a drive that travelled 489 yards. Correct: four-hundred and eighty-nine yards. Over a quarter of a mile. Johnson’s drive left him with only 80 yards to the hole on the par-5 12th, went 139 yards past Kisner’s tee shot, and is the longest recorded on the PGA Tour in the ShotLinks era, overtaking Davis Love III’s 476-yard effort from the 2004 Tournament of Champions. It won’t, however, take its rightful place in the record books as the tour, for some peculiar reason, doesn’t count statistics from the Match Play.

2. Yesterday turned out to be a pretty productive day for South Korean star Eun Hee Ji. Not only did she hold off American duo Cristie Kerr and Lizette Salas to win her fourth LPGA title at the KIA Classic, the former US Women’s Open champion also had a hole-in-one and won TWO cars. No sooner had Kerr closed to within one of Ji’s lead at Aviara Golf Club, the South Korean aced the 166-yard 14th to extend her lead and win a KIA Sorrento. She got another for holding on to win the tournament, as well as a check for $270,000. Impressively, Ji also hit every green in regulation during the final round and missed only one fairway.

Steve Stricker

3. Steve Stricker
is finding that wins are a bit like London buses. You wait all day for
one, then two come along at once. Or, in Stricker’s case, you wait six
years for a win, then top the leaderboard twice in three weeks. The
51-year-old closed with a four-under 68 to win the Rapiscan Systems
Classic for his second victory in golf for the over-50s. Billy Andrade
was three shots back in second place.

4.  Lorenzo Gagli held
his nerve to claim the Barclays Kenya Open for his first Challenge Tour
title. The 32-year-old Italian finally saw off Sweden’s Jens Fahrbring
at the third hole of a sudden-death play-off to take the €80,000
winner’s cheque and move straight to the top of the Challenge Tour
rankings.

5.
The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play wasn’t the only PGA Tour event
that took place last wee. The Corales Punta Cana Championship was played
out in the Dominican Republic, with Brice Garnett
going wire-to-wire to claims his first tour title. The 35-year-old, who
won twice on the Web.com Tour last season, held off Keith Mitchell to
win by four shots with former US Amateur champion Kelly Kraft in third
spot.


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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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