Dustin bustin' the competition

AUSTIN, Texas - The final day lasted longer than Dustin Johnson wanted, but the outcome was what everyone expected.

Johnson, a force of nature with no discernible weaknesses - and hardly any pulse - won the Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday for his third straight victory, making him the first person to sweep the four World Golf Championships.

He had to work the hardest for this one.

Johnson was taken to the 18th hole in the semifinal before draining an eight-foot putt to beat Hideto Tanihara, and then Jon Rahm rallied from five strokes down with 10 holes to play until his fearless charge fell short on the final hole.

Johnson tapped in a 30-inch putt for a 1-up victory, completing a dominant week in which he never trailed in the 112 holes he played over seven matches.

"What am I going to say that you guys don't know?" Rahm said. "If his putter had been hot, I wouldn't have had a chance, no question. It's amazing how he's able to keep cool the entire round. It amazes me. And he's just a perfect, complete player."

Johnson now has 15 victories in his career, six of them dating to his first major at the US Open last summer at Oakmont. Three of them were World Golf Championships at the Bridgestone Invitational, the Mexico Championship and the Match Play.

He won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in 2013.

Asked to size up his feat, Johnson said: "Pretty good."

There's really not much else to say. He led 94 percent of the holes he played at Austin Country Club, a tournament record. He won 46 of those 112 holes. When asked about his pulse on Saturday, Johnson said: "It's beating."

And on Sunday?

"It got a little faster than I would have liked, starting on about 16," he said with a smile. "But I was able to hang in there."

Johnson was four up with six holes to play when Rahm, a bold Spanish rookie with a big game, drove over the water and onto the 13th green to win the hole with a birdie. He stuck a wedge close on the 15th for another birdie.

Rahm hit a shot through the trees on the 16th and won the hole with a 30-foot birdie. And just like that, he was one down with two holes to play.

"I just made a swing as hard as I could," Rahm said. "And somehow the ball went under the first tee, rose just over the next one ... and went through to 100 yards. I don't know what happened.

"I think either Seve, God, someone right there - or both of them - just made a gap in the trees and made my ball go through there."

Indeed, it was the kind of magic the late, great Seve Ballesteros produced for so long.

Rahm's comeback, however, fell short.

Playing the 356-yard 18th hole for the first time in competition all week, and needing a birdie to send this heavyweight bout to overtime, he smashed his drive over the back of the green. But his chip down the slope checked up and stayed short of the ridge. That left him a downhill putt that broke so sharply he aimed almost at a 90-degree angle away from the hole.

He did well to save par.

Johnson came up just short of the green, chipped close and rolled in it to complete another big week.

"That was a tough day, a long day," Johnson said. "I'm proud of the way I played, the way I hung in there."

Johnson said in Mexico that his name - but not his exclusively - is one that nobody wants to see on the leaderboard.

When asked if he is intimidating, he always says that's for other players to determine.

"If I'm playing my best," he said. "Yeah, I'll play against anybody, anytime."

The Masters is in two weeks.

Lee equals record run

South Korea's Lee Mi-rim wasn't about to let history repeat itself.

Lee took the lead into the final round of the Kia Classic two years ago and was overhauled by Cristie Kerr of the US, who won with a tournament record of 20-under.

Lee had the 54-hole lead again this year and shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday to win by six strokes and tie Kerr's tournament record.

It was her third LPGA Tour victory and first since winning two titles in 2014, her rookie year.

Lee played a bogey-free round in Carlsbad, California, with birdies on each of the odd-numbered holes on the front nine to reach 18-under.

She twice just missed putts that would have put her at 21-under, leaving an eagle putt short on 16 and rolling a 40-foot birdie try on the lip of the 18th.

She was so far ahead, she wasn't tempted to think about the lead she lost in 2015.

"I just thought I didn't play very well at that time. Today, I tried not to think about it.

"Only the winner can enjoy the moment, so it was very special," said Lee"

Associated Press

Dustin Johnson poses with cowboy boots after winning the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday in Austin, Texas. Richard Heathcote / Getty Images / Afp