Zach Johnson Wins At Colonial
Jason Dufner entered the final round of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial holding a slim one-stroke lead over 2010 Colonial champion Zach Johnson, but Johnson’s 2-over 72 was enough for a one-stroke victory over Dufner (74). The tournament basically came down to a match-play competition over the final 36 holes, with a triple bogey on the par-4 15th on Sunday for Dufner helping secure Johnson’s second win at Colonial. Things got interesting on the final hole, however, as Johnson violated Rule 20-7 as he played his ball on the green from the wrong place, leading to a two-stroke penalty.
Zach Johnson notches his eighth PGA TOUR victory in his 226th start (2004 BellSouth Classic, 2007 Masters Tournament, 2007 AT&T Classic, 2008 Valero Texas Open, 209 Sony Open in Hawaii, 2009 Valero Texas Open, 2010 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, 2011 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial). The Sea Island resident claimed his first three PGA TOUR titles in his adopted home state of Georgia (2004 BellSouth Classic, 2007 Masters, 2007 AT&T Classic). Since then, he has claimed four of his next five wins in the state of Texas (2008-09 Valero Texas Open, 2010, 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial). His only win outside of Georgia and Texas came at the 2009 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Johnson has posted multiple victories at three tournaments: 2004 & 2007 AT&T Classic, 2008 & 2009 Valero Texas Open, 2010 & 2012 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Johnson’s final-round 2-over 72 snapped a streak of 15 consecutive rounds in the 60s at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, dating to a first-round 69 in 2009.
Johnson has four-consecutive top-10 finishes and has never finished outside of the top 30 in seven starts at the Colonial: 2012/1st, 2011/4th, 2010/1st, 2009/T9, 2006/T30, 2005/T26, 2004/T14.
Johnson becomes the 12th multiple winner of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Ben Hogan leads
the list with five wins, while Johnson joins two-time winners Billy Casper, Julius Boros, Al Geiberger, Ben Crenshaw, Bruce Lietzke, Lee Trevino, Corey Pavin, Nick Price, Kenny Perry and Phil Mickelson.
{scrollbox}dir=2012/colonial/colonial round 4{/scrollbox}
Johnson became the fourth-consecutive come-from-behind winner of the Colonial, and the fifth since 2001. He joins Sergio Garcia (2001), Steve Stricker (2009), Zach Johnson (2010) and David Toms (2011).
Dufner was seeking to become the 15th player to win both the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial during their career. Others who have completed the “DFW Double” are Ben Crenshaw, Roberto De Vicenzo, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bruce Devlin, Jack Nicklaus, Lanny Wadkins, Tom Watson, Bruce Lietzke, Nick Price, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Rory Sabbatini and Julius Boros.
Dufner’s last four starts on TOUR (1-Zurich Classic of New Orleans, T68-THE PLAYERS Championship, 1-HP Byron Nelson Championship, 2nd-Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial). During that stretch, he has moved from No. 38 to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings.
Dufner was seeking to become the first player to win three times in four starts since Tiger Woods in 2009 (1-AT&T National, MC-British Open, 1-Buick Open, 1- World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational).
Tommy Gainey finished solo-third in his second Colonial start (MC-2011), just one shy of his career-best runner-up finish at the 2008 Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. Gainey had four third-place finishes in 2011.
Jim Furyk finished solo-fourth in his 17th career start at the Colonial. It is his seventh top-10 finish at the event, with runner-up finishes in 1998 and 2007. He moves to No. 23 in the FedExCup standings.
Chris Kirk posted the round of the day with a 5-under 65, finishing T5 in his third start at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (T74-2008, T16/2011, T5/2012).
After missed cuts in his first two starts as a professional (2012 HP Byron Nelson Championship and Valero Texas Open), sponsor exemption recipient Kelly Kraft finished T57. The 24 year-old defending U.S. Amateur champion is also a two-time Texas Amateur champion (2008, 2011). Kraft, who turned pro following his first appearance at the 2012 Masters (62nd), first competed on TOUR at the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he missed the cut.
1985 and 1996 Crowne Plaza Invitational champion Corey Pavin, making his 29th consecutive start at the event dating to 1984, finished T31. Pavin owns eight top 10s at the Colonial. Ben Hogan leads in all-time top 10s here with 15.
By making his TOUR-leading, 19th consecutive cut and sixth straight at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, THE PLAYERS Championship winner Matt Kuchar closed with a 2-over 72 to finish T26. He is sixth in FedExCup points.
Rickie Fowler, No. 9 in the FedExCup standings, posted his fourth-consecutive top-10 finish (T10-Zurich Classic of New Orleans, 1-Wells Fargo Championship, T2-THE PLAYERS, T5-Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial).
Rookie and Mayakoba Golf Classic champion John Huh finished T5 for his seventh top-25 finish in 15 starts this season. He is No. 15 in the FedExCup standings.
Local favorite Ryan Palmer finished T5 for his first top 10 in nine starts at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
Rookie Jonas Blixt earned his fourth-consecutive top-15 finish (T13-Zurich Classic of New Orleans, T9-Wells Fargo Championship, T3-HP Byron Nelson Championship, T10-Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial).
Kevin Na, currently No. 25 in the FedExCup standings, finished T13 for his eighth top-15 finish of the season. His 66 was the only bogey-free round on Sunday.
View our Colonial photo galleries:
