Here's every golf-related thing you need to know, including Dustin Johnson's win, for the morning of Jan. 8.

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

In a field that featured the top five players in the world, Johnson made a strong opening statement that a No. 1 ranking he has held for nearly a year might be difficult to take away.

Johnson stretched a two-shot lead to six shots at the turn, then delivered the biggest moment of the week with a drive on the par-4 12th hole that stopped 6 inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle. He also drove the par-4 14th hole.

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He finished at 24-under 268. The eight-shot margin of victory was his largest ever, and it was one short of the tournament record set by David Duval since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Jordan Spieth also won by eight shots in 2016.

”I knew I was playing well, and it’s a golf course I’m really comfortable on,” Johnson said. ”I was really driving it well this..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

In a field that featured the top five players in the world, Johnson made a strong opening statement that the No. 1 ranking he has held for nearly a year might be difficult to take away.

Johnson stretched a two-shot lead to six strokes at the turn, then delivered the biggest moment of the week with a drive on the par-4 12th hole that stopped 6 inches from the cup for a tap-in eagle.

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He finished at 24-under 268 for his 17th career victory.

Jon Rahm closed with a 69 to finish second and move to No. 3 in the world.

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) On the day PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan announced more than $180 million given to charities last year, he shared how the tour turned to Jack Nicklaus to help protect golf’s model for raising money.

The tax-exempt status of the PGA Tour and other sports leagues was in jeopardy late last year under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Part of the Senate version of the bill included a subsection called, ”Repeal of Tax-Exempt Status for Professional Sports Leagues.”

That’s when Monahan decided to call Nicklaus at his office, but he dialed his mobile phone.

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”He whispers, `Hello?”’ Monahan said Sunday at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. ”I said, `I need your help.’ I walked him through the whole scenario. I said, `I need you to make some phone calls and write some letters. We need to go full bore on this thing.”’

Nicklaus whispered because he was in a field in upstate New York. He told the commissioner he’d get started when he got back ..

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is as excited as anybody about the potential for Tiger Woods' return to competitive golf

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Justin Thomas is one of those players who doesn’t like to share his goals until the end of the season.

Except for one.

He wants to win, because that means he gets to start the year at Kapalua.

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”I hope that is my first tournament of the year for the rest of my career,” Thomas said.

He’s not alone, of course. Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson do. So does Rickie Fowler, who probably needs to get back here more often. This was only the third time that Fowler has played in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

It seems so obvious.

Who wouldn’t want to come to Maui the first week of January and play against a small field with no cut while looking down from the Plantation Course at the occasional breach of a humpback whale in the Pacific waters that separate Maui from Molokai, the island that looks much closer than eight miles away?

Tiger Woods, for one.

Woods won at Kapalua in 2000 in that epic battle with Ernie Els. He never fin..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) PGA champion Justin Thomas is using a television on-course reporter to caddie for him next week in Honolulu while his regular caddie recovers from a foot injury.

But not just any TV reporter.

He said he’ll be using Jim ”Bones” Mackay at the Sony Open. Mackay spent 25 years with Phil Mickelson until they parted ways last summer. Mackay now works for NBC and Golf Channel walking the course. He was with the Dustin Johnson pairing on Saturday at Kapalua.

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Jimmy Johnson has been dealing with plantar fasciitis and a tear for the last few months. He was in a boot for 10 days before arriving at Kapalua, but the severe terrain has taken a toll. He likely will be in a protective boot for at least a month. Thomas’ father, Mike, caddied for his son Saturday.

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Dustin Johnson has a long game and a short memory.

Johnson holed a 65-yard wedge shot down the hill and up the green for an eagle, and he powered his way to birdies on the par 5s at Kapalua for a 7-under 66 to build a two-shot lead over Brian Harman going into the final round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

The world’s No. 1 player with a lead is a daunting prospect anywhere, especially on a course where he is a past champion (2013) and has posted 20 out of his 30 rounds on the Plantation Course in the 60s.

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Hope for the players chasing him comes from Johnson’s most recent start on the PGA Tour.

That was just over two months ago at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where Johnson lost a six-shot lead at Sheshan International. Most peculiar about that day is Johnson still was up by three shots, didn’t miss a fairway on the back nine and still got beat.

Johnson says he didn’t even remember Shanghai until it was mentioned to h..

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) Dustin Johnson holed out with a wedge for eagle, made birdie on every par 5 and powered his way to a 7-under 66 to build a two-shot lead going into the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Coming off his lone bogey from a poor chip, Johnson faced a 65-yard shot down the hill and up the slope of the green on No. 12 at Kapalua, and it rolled out beautifully into the cup. He added three more birdies to reach 16-under 203.

Brian Harman shot a 69 and was two shots behind. Harman began the day tied for the lead with Marc Leishman, who didn’t make a birdie until the 16th hole and fell out of contention.

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Jon Rahm (66) was four shots back.

In the last few years, we've seen some pretty crazy full-court putts from a few tour pros at their alma mater's college basketball games. There was Stewart Cink's 94-footer at Georgia Tech that won a student $25,000, and more recently, Jeff Overton went back to school to drop a bomb and win a few fans a trip to Myrtle Beach at an Indiana game.
The difference with those two putts is that they were struck by professional golfers. That's not to say 94-footers on any surface, green or hardwood, are easy, but these guys know what they are doing. That's what makes this latest full-courter all the more impressive, because of the fact it came from a regular Clemson college student at the Tigers game vs. Louisville on Saturday. Our man didn't even need a practice stroke:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/949730436313382912
Never. A. Doubt. Incredible putt from a guy who has never played golf before:
https://twitter.com/ClemsonNetwork/status/949715555547844608
Not on..