Dutch Fork High alums shine on PGA Tour

IRMO- Dutch Fork High School alum Dustin Johnson continues his dominance on golf’s biggest stage. Johnson shot a 17-under 267 to win the Genesis Open in Pacific Palisades, California. With the win, Johnson moved to number one in the world rankings. Fellow Dutch Fork High alum and PGA Tour rookie Wesley Bryan finished tied for fourth place with an 11-under 273.

“It gives me a lot of confidence [to be ranked number one in the world],” Johnson told reporters right after his victory. “This is going to push me to work even harder and try to get even better. I didn’t finish the last 10 holes the way I would like to, but I had a pretty big lead and was kind of on cruise control down the stretch, but would have liked to played better the last 10 holes.”

Johnson has been on fire as of late, finishing eighth or better in 14 of 18 starts in the past nine months and won his first major last season at the U.S. Open. Bryan has been as impressive spending just one season on the Web.com Tour and winning three events in 2016 on his way to earning his PGA Tour card. Bryan tweeted out after his round, “Thanks Genesis Open for a great week! Played well, but not well enough to catch Johnson. Congrats to DJ on getting to number one in the world!”

Johnson and Bryan both had spectacular careers with the Silver Foxes. Johnson led Dutch Fork to the Class AAAA State Championship in 2003 and finished fourth individually his senior season. That year, the Silver Foxes won six tournament titles in seven events. Bryan earned six letters under head coach Mark Giles while at Dutch Fork. He won the Class AAAA individual boys state championships in 2007 and 2008 while helping lead the Silver Foxes to a team state title in 2008.