Dustin Johnson clinches LIV Golf season title, $18 million prize

Oct. 10 (UPI) -- American Dustin Johnson clinched the season-long individual championship and its $18 million prize in LIV Golf's inaugural campaign, the controversial rival series of the PGA Tour announced Monday.

Johnson carded a 5-under par 67 in the final round of LIV Golf Bangkok to finish the tournament at 9-under Sunday at Stonehill in Pathum Thani, Thailand. Eugenio Chacarra won the tournament. Paul Casey, Richard Bland and Sihwan Kim finished inside the Top 5.

Johnson, a two-time major champion, finished 16th at Stonehill, but pushed his large lead to an insurmountable level in the individual standings. Just one tournament remains in the LIV Golf regular season.

"Locking up the individual competition is big," Johnson said in a news release. "It's an honor to be LIV's first individual season champion.

"I'd like to thank [LIV Golf CEO] Greg Norman and LIV for their confidence in me, my brother and caddie Austin, my wife Paulina, my Four Aces teammates Pat Perez, Patrick Reed, and Talor Gooch, as well as LIV's growing legion of fans around the world."

Johnson won LIV Golf Boston, logged five Top 10 finishes and four Top 5 finishes in six LIV Golf tournaments. He also finished eighth at LIV Golf London. His 121 points in the individual standings are 42 more than second-place Branden Grace.

The winning point total of 40 is the maximum a player can gain at a single tournament.

The LIV Golf regular season will end with LIV Golf Jeddah, which will run from Friday through Sunday at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.

The battle for second- and third-place in the individual standings remains active. Each of those players can earn $8 million and $4 million, respectively.

Grace's 79 points are just three more than Reed, who sits in third place. Cameron Smith is fourth with 56 points. Charl Schwartzel is fifth with 55 points.

Carlos Ortiz, Matthew Wolff, Peter Uihlein, Louis Oosthuizen and Gooch round out the Top 10 in the individual standings.

The LIV Golf Team Championship will follow from Oct. 28 to 30 at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, capping off the first campaign of the Saudi-backed series, which has faced criticism from the PGA Tour and golf fans since it started this summer.

The LIV Golf Miami field will compete for a total prize purse of $50 million. The winning team will earn $16 million.