Zach Johnson continued the impressive start to his senior career when winning the inaugural Portugal Invitational held at Els Club Vilamoura in the Algarve.
Johnson fired a final round 65 to finish on 19 under par to win by two shots from fellow American Stewart Cink.
The victory, which was Johnson’s fourth in his first season on the PGA TOUR Champions, brought to a close a memorable week that marked Portugal’s arrival on the global senior golf stage.
“It almost feels too good to be true. To claim my fourth victory of the year is incredible,” said Johnson, for whom this was his “I’m really proud of the way I played this week, and there’s no doubt that the front nine today gave me the platform to go on and win. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Johnson built his victory with a spectacular start to the final round. Beginning the day one shot behind overnight leaders Stewart Cink, Padraig Harrington and Rory Sabbatini, the 2007 Masters champion immediately piled the pressure on the leading group with three consecutive birdies before adding two more on the front nine to reach the turn in five-under par.
That flying start established a three-shot lead that ultimately proved decisive. A further birdie at the 11th strengthened his grip on the tournament just as the breeze picked up around Vilamoura, adding another layer of difficulty to the closing holes.
Johnson eventually signed for a bogey-free 65, capped by a closing birdie at the 18th, to become the first winner of the Portugal Invitational, a new event that drew a strong field of players from both the PGA TOUR Champions and the Legends Tour, Europe’s senior circuit.
Cink and Harrington refused to let Johnson pull away without a fight. Cink produced a particularly strong finish, carding three birdies over the final seven holes to secure outright second place, two shot behind the winner, while Harrington also remained in contention deep into the back nine.
Tournament host Ernie Els, playing on the course that bears his name, closed with a four-under-par 68 to finish on eight-under for the tournament, finishing inside the top 20. Fellow World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer ended the week on six-under.