Johnson grabs title in great escape

IT CAME down to the wire before Barbados champion James Johnson made one of the greatest escapes in local golf last Sunday to win the 2015 RBC/Royal Bank Classic.

Watched by spectators from the fringes of the club house at the Barbados Golf Club, Johnson birdied the final hole to shake off a stern challenge from national junior Iz Hustler (below) and at the same time also nipped Mark Blakeley’s bid for the championship. 

That critical birdie putt on the par-5, No. 18, left the champion with a 1-over-par 73 on the final day and a two-day gross 150, which was one stroke better than second-placed Blakeley (151), a former Jamaica player, and three better than Hustler (153) and veteran Orville Alleyne (153).

The final nine holes of the tournament proved to be tense, but exciting for the major contenders as Johnson, who had trailed leader Carlsen Leacock by six strokes on the first day, started to pull back but encountered an inspired Hustler, who seemed bent on upstaging his older rivals. (BB)

Please read the full story in today’s Midweek Nation, or in the eNATION edition.