​AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Zach Johnson captured his first PGA Tour Champions major in the final event at Firestone Country Club, closing with a 2-under 68 to secure a six-shot victory Sunday in the Kaulig Companies Championship. He leaned on a strong third round, where a 63 gave him a four-shot cushion heading into the last day, and despite a rough start with bogeys on his first four holes, no one managed to close the gap. Johnson sealed the win with a deft chip from about 20 feet on his final hole.
This victory marked Johnson’s third win in his rookie season on the 50-and-older PGA Tour Champions, allowing him to close the gap on Stewart Cink in the Charles Schwab Cup standings. The win also guarantees Johnson a spot in The Players Championship next year. He finished the tournament at 15-under 265.
Boo Weekley finished strong with a 66, earning solo second at 9-under 271, while Rory Sabbatini — the 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist from Slovakia — posted a weekend 66-66 to finish among the top contenders. Cink, who led at times, settled for fourth after closing with a 68.
Johnson’s best previous finish at Firestone had been a runner-up four years earlier, when he trailed Hideki Matsuyama by five shots in 2017 during a World Golf Championships event hosted at the course. The WGC event later relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, in 2019 and became a PGA Tour Champions venue.
The Kaulig Companies sponsorship is ending, and the tour is moving away from Firestone—where tournament golf dates back to 1954—for Newport Beach, California, next year to stage its fifth major.