Dustin Johnson benefits in rules row to win World Golf Championship

The photo shows the golfer with his arm around his caddie. They’re both smiling. They should have been. Last year playing on PGA TOUR Series-China, the player, Malaysia’s Arie Irawan, and the caddie, his wife of three weeks, the former Marina Malek, traveled to Guilin, China, where Arie played well at that week’s tournament and was in contention before eventually settling for a tie for fourth. Although Marina knew very little about golf, she was ready for the challenge of caddying, she loved who she was working for that week and her “boss� was more than happy with her performance. “I’m so lucky I have my wife here this week,� Irawan said following his first round. “This is the first time Marina is traveling and caddying for me, and she’s also taking care of the food, so that makes it easy. It helps a lot having her out there. It just makes me more calm, and that’s why I didn’t make any bogeys today. She makes me happy.� That joy turned to sadness in a stunning way Sunday morning in Sanya, China, as Irawan never woke up, dying in his sleep in his hotel room as resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. He was 28.   Irawan was in Sanya for another tournament, this time the Sanya Championship, the second event of the PGA TOUR Series-China season. Marina was back home in Malaysia. Irawan had missed the cut a week earlier in Chongqing and didn’t play well in Sanya, not qualifying for weekend play again. But since he was already in the resort city bordering the South China Sea, Irawan elected to stay on site in a hotel room he was sharing with fellow player Kevin Techakanokboon. His plan was to then travel to Haikou, about a 90-minute train ride on the north side of Hainan Island, for this week’s Haikou Championship. News of his death stunned everybody who knew Irawan, an international player who travelled all over the world playing golf. Out of deference and respect, Tour officials delayed the start of the Sanya Championship final round and then ultimately cancelled it after announcing Irawan’s death. “In the times I was with him or just around him, there was always a smile on his face—whether it was playing golf, him working out or just hanging out with friends. He always had a smile,� said Shotaro Ban, a Series member who was summoned to the scene early Sunday morning and performed CPR on Irawan before emergency personnel arrived. “I think anyone who met him or knew him realized he was an extremely genuine person. He didn’t have that much to stay, but he had a great heart, and his wife is just like him. Arie exemplified what it means to be a professional golfer, a husband and a friend in the true nature. I’m just devastated by this loss.� The PGA TOUR’s Todd Rhinehart recently returned to the United States after living in Malaysia and serving as the CIMB Classic Executive Director. He said it was in 2015 when Irawan became more than just an acquaintance. That year, the native Malaysian qualified for the tournament held in Kuala Lumpur. Irawan was one of three Malaysians in the field that week, the most in the tournament’s history. “He was 24 at the time and was anxious and nervous to be playing in his first PGA TOUR event,� Rhinehart recalled. “Over the years, I saw and talked to him at TPC Kuala Lumpur while he was practicing as well as competing in our national qualifier for the CIMB Classic. He was not only one of Malaysia’s most-talented golfers, he was also an incredible young man who served as a passionate ambassador for junior golf in the country.� It was in Malaysia where Irawan got his start in the game, taking up golf eight years after he was born on August 21, 1990, to Ahmad and Jeny Irawan. In 2006 and 2007, he finished runner-up at Faldo Series events in Malaysia, and as an 18-year-old, he won the Malaysian Amateur Stroke Play Championship. With those successes, he began to attract attention from U.S. college coaches interested in securing his services. Irawan elected to attend and play golf at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. While in college, Irawan earned four letters, was an Academic All-American his junior year and earned his degree in management information systems. Upon graduation, he returned to Malaysia to embark on a professional golf career.   “His death has been tough on all of us. Golf being such a tight-knit community, it really is a shock what has happened,� said veteran Benjamin Lein, who became friends with Irawan last year when he joined the Tour as a full member. In February and back in California before the start of the PGA TOUR Series-China season, Lein put together a foursome at Industry Hills Golf Club outside Los Angeles, inviting Irawan to join him and fellow Series member Gunn Charoenkul, as well as China’s Haotong Li, for a friendly game. “It just felt like no matter where in the world we were together, he was always the same, friendly, happy Arie,� Lein noted. Li agreed with that assessment. The 2014 PGA TOUR Series-China Player of the Year learned of Irawan’s death while preparing to play his final round at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. “I can’t believe it. He was such a nice guy, and I feel like it’s so unfair,� said Li, who met Irawan for the first time that week in California as Li was preparing for the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship the following week. “We had a great time playing. It was a really fun day, his wife was there and Gunn’s wife (Vichuda) was there, too. It was very comfortable. He was like an old friend even though I just met him. There’s nothing to say, really. It’s just so very sad. I couldn’t believe it when I read the news.� “Being on the road away from family is tough, especially numerous weeks at a time. It’s always nice to have someone who points out the positive in every situation to keep us going,� Lein added. “That’s what Arie did. He was a selfless friend who always made everyone else around him better in different ways. I never was able to thank him for that, but he will forever be close to my heart.� Like many golfers playing at the PGA TOUR China-Series level, Irawan had his ups and downs, the two missed cuts to begin the season certainly disappointing. His best season as a professional came in 2015 when he won two Asian Developmental Tour tournaments—the PGM Sime Darby Harvard Championship and the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational. A shoulder injury from a motorcycle accident curtailed his momentum in 2016. He was out of action from March until mid-August that season, and he had since struggled to regain the form he showed in 2015. “We ran into each other and talked for 10 minutes about the status of his game while I was still in Malaysia,� Rinehart added. “He was very excited about the upcoming season on the China Series and was hoping to have a great year to qualify for the Web.com Tour as he had spent some time in California with his swing coach and enjoyed his time there. “I can’t believe he’s gone,� Rhinehart continued. “My thoughts are about him and my prayers are with his family during this incredibly tough time.� Perhaps Techakanokboon said it best when he described his close friend. “Arie had a lot of experience and was wise beyond his years. He really carried himself as a professional all the time. I’m going to miss him.�

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WILMINGTON, N.C. – Notes and observations from Thursday’s first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point Golf Club, where Italy’s Francesco Molinari chipped in on the 18th hole for a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren among the early finishers. DJ PLEASED WITH OPENING ROUND Dustin Johnson hasn’t played much golf lately, but the rust didn’t show as he made four birdies and signed for a 2-under 70. That tied him with 53-year-old playing partner Davis Love III, and gave Johnson a solid start as he tries to play his way back into the winner’s circle for the fourth time in his last four starts.    “I’m happy with the way I played,” Johnson said. “I didn’t score that great, didn’t really hole that many putts, but other than that, yeah, I played really well.” Johnson got right back to his usual game Thursday. He averaged 312.7 yards off the tee, and hit 8 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens. (He leads the TOUR in both driving distance and greens in regulation.) The only thing that hampered his play: He took 32 putts. All in all, he said, it was a good day, especially considering this was his first competitive round since he closed out Jon Rahm to win the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on March 26. “I thought I drove it nicely,” Johnson said, “Hit a lot of good iron shots. You know, I’m happy with the way I played, for sure.” The long break wasn’t part of the plan, of course. Johnson went to Augusta National for the Masters four weeks ago, but pulled out at the 11th hour with a lower back injury suffered while falling down a short flight of stairs in his rental house. In a way, Johnson said after his opening-round 70 at Eagle Point, it felt like nothing had changed since before the injury. He said he feels 100 percent physically, and the statistics backed him up: His longest measured drive in Round 1 was an impressive 340 yards. Johnson’s win streak goes all the way back to the Genesis Open in Los Angeles in February. Should he prevail at the Wells Fargo for his fourth straight victory it would mark the longest winning streak on TOUR since Tiger Woods won five straight tournaments in 2007-2008. “All in all,” Johnson said, “I’m very pleased with the day.” MOLINARI HEATS UP WITH PUTTER Francesco Molinari was having qualified success this season already, what with a T7 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard, a T33 at the Masters, and a T22 finish at the RBC Heritage. But something was holding him back: putting. That changed in the first round of the Wells Fargo, as Molinari chipped in twice and needed just 25 putts on his way to a 66 for the first-round lead. “Yeah, I had lots of good rounds this year,” said Molinari, who is ranked 69th in strokes gained: putting. “I think I had something like eight top 25s in 11 tournaments, so I’ve been playing really well. Obviously today I made a few more putts than maybe the last couple of months, which is always nice. … I worked on the putting a lot the last couple weeks and it paid off today.” Molinari said he took pleasure in not just seeing the ball go in the hole Thursday, but also in his older brother Edoardo picking up his third European Tour victory last month. “He’s had a pretty tough time the last few seasons,” Francesco said. WILLY WILCOX ‘TRYING TO FIND THE GAME’ Amid the players’ rush to familiarize themselves with Eagle Point, Willy Wilcox was so far down the alternate list to get into the Wells Fargo he didn’t play any practice rounds. He walked the back nine Wednesday, leaving his caddie Kevin Ensor to tour all 18. But that was it. Still, in his first time seeing Eagle Point with a club in his hands, Wilcox shot 3 under on the front nine Thursday morning, briefly sharing the lead. The 30-year-old with the unconventional swing dropped two shots on the back nine and signed for a 1-under 71. “Just trying to find the game,” said Wilcox, who is coming off his best result this season, a T14 with partner Freddie Jacobson at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. “It’s nice to see some good stuff. It was nice to birdie the last. It got a little squirrely on the back so we’ll go to the range and figure it out. We got a great draw with the weather.” Most fans know Wilcox for his ace at THE PLAYERS Championship last year, which was the first at the island 17th hole since 2002. He is not qualified to return to TPC Sawgrass next week, but remains grateful for the moment. He got messages from all around the world, all of which obscured the fact that he didn’t have a great season, missing 11 cuts and finishing 138th in the FedExCup standings. In December, he decided to shake things up. He was kicking back and having a few beers with his agent when he decided to change his name from Will to Willy, since everybody calls him that, anyway. “I wish I was going back,” Wilcox said of THE PLAYERS. “I mean, I guess I still kind of have a chance. It’s amazing how many people know about it. I got emails and Facebook messages, Twitter messages, my family was there. It was as cool as it could possibly get. Everybody back home was really excited. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you had a bad year.’ People were like, ‘You had a hole-in-one! Dude, you should just retire now!’” He’s not about to retire, Wilcox added with a laugh. For one thing, the former University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazer — his mom Kim is the women’s golf coach — still has three more rounds to go at the Wells Fargo. His 71 puts him five behind the leader Molinari, which means a return trip to THE PLAYERS, while still a longshot, is still within reach.

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