Final round: Johnson makes most of second chance
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Richard S. Johnson knows there was one shot that gave him the confidence to win his first tournament on the PGA TOUR.
"It all started out with that first day. I made that hole-in-one and all of a sudden I felt like I could make some birdies. I haven't had that feeling for a while," said Johnson, who had struggled the last few years on TOUR.
Johnson birdied three of his last four holes Sunday to shoot 6-under par 64 and win the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee by a stroke over Ken Duke. He finished 16-under par on the 6,759-yard Brown Deer Park Golf Course to win the $720,000 first prize.
Johnson, the sixth golfer from Sweden to win on TOUR and seventh first-time winner this season, had to go through q-school last fall to get his TOUR card back and he had only made the cut in three of ten events this season before coming here.
His ace linked him with Tiger Woods, who was the last player to make a hole-in-one there in his professional debut in 1996.
Johnson got the birdies when he needed them the most, first sinking a birdie putt of about 12 feet on the par-4 17th-hole to break away from a tie with Duke at 14-under. He then birdied the par-5 18th from less than 2 feet.
The birdie putt came after Johnson hit a great second shot to reach the green.
"I hit a three wood just straight at the pin and it rolled up to 20 feet and I two-putted for birdie," he said.
That final birdie was vital to his victory because Duke, playing in his threesome, also birdied the final hole.
Duke, who shot a 5-under 65, birdied the hole even though his second shot landed in a greenside bunker. It was a disappointing finish because Duke has never won a tournament, but he felt good that he stayed with Johnson to the end.
| 30 | Score shot by Kenny Perry on the back nine on Sunday |
| 100 | Spots jumped by Richard S. Johnson in the FedExCup standings |
"I holed a couple of putts on him early, but he holed a couple back on me," Duke said. "I had a great week. Shoot 5-under on Sunday and just get beat by one. You got to take your hat off to him."
Dean Wilson (65), Chad Campbell (65) and Chris Riley (66) tied for third at 13-under.
Kenny Perry closed brilliantly with a 64 to get to 12-under and finish tied for sixth. He had been criticized for skipping the British Open to play here after winning three of his last five tournaments including last week's John Deere Classic.
Perry had chosen to play in Milwaukee because he felt he had the best chance of picking up points so he can make this year's Ryder Cup team, which is played in his native Kentucky. He said his finish vindicated that decision.
"I accomplished my goal," Perry said. "I wanted to top 10 it. I told my people, I told my friends. I said, 'If I can just go there and have a good top 10, I've accomplished my mission.'"
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| TRIVIA QUESTION | ||
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| Sunday's Best |
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The par-5, 557-yard 18th was the easiest with a Sunday scoring average of 4.312.
The par-4, 485-yard fourth was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.234.
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It is hard to beat Richard S. Johnson's monster approach to the 72nd green. The shot set up an easy two-putt birdie to put away Ken Duke. 
Johnson and Kenny Perry had matching 64s, but both could have gone much lower. Each man had two bogeys on the front nine. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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MAKING SERIOUS PROGRESS
Chris Riley, a member of the 2004 United States Ryder Cup squad, finished T3 for his first top-10 since the 2006 Valero Texas Open.
He and former UNLV teammate Chad Campbell tied for third along with current Las Vegas resident Dean Wilson.
Riley knows that he will never be able to bomb it off the tee like some of the TOUR's longer hitters, but solid putting never goes out of style. He's always relied heavily on his ability to roll his ball well on the greens, and he did that to near-perfection at Brown Deer Park.
He averaged only 26 putts per round for all four days, leading the field in that category. Riley made only five bogeys all week, and none during Sunday's final-round 66.
Riley's T3 boosted his earnings to $359,320 on the year, giving him momentum as he seeks to regain the form that made him one of the TOUR's most effective players the first part of the decade.
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DUKE ENJOYS MATCH-PLAY FEEL ON FINAL DAY
For Ken Duke, Moving Day was Sunday.
The 2006 Nationwide Tour Player of the Year is still pumped up about his solid rookie season last year, when he finished 37th on the money list after finishing second in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Duke shot 65 on Sunday to finish second to Richard S. Johnson by a shot at the U.S. Bank Championship. He birdied the 72nd hole after getting up-and-down from the greenside bunker.
"He played good," Duke said of Johnson. " I holed a couple putts on him earlier, but he holed a couple back on me. And he got it up and down on 12, which was great. He got it up and down on 16 after I stiffed it in there. And he made the putt on 17 (for birdie).
"And that's why-- as a player, that's what you practice for is to hit the shots when it's time to hit them. And he did it.
You know, that's the way it goes. Just have to keep going and put yourself in that situation and you never know. Might be your turn sometime."
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| Richard S. Johnson's stats in the U.S. Bank Championship: | ||||||||||||||||||
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