Dustin Johnson’s numbers tell the story: He’s at the top of his game for Masters
Editor’s note: Johnson was 3-under par through nine holes Thursday before play was suspended for darkness. He and others will finish their first rounds Friday morning.
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Dustin Johnson arrived at the 2017 Masters with a sizzling streak that almost defies reality: three straight tournament victories that included never trailing for a single hole in rolling through the WGC Match-Play undefeated.
Alas, fate intervened. On Masters’ eve, the world’s top-ranked player and overwhelming favorite slipped on the stairs in his rental home, injured his back and had to withdraw.
Johnson came to Augusta this week for the pandemic-delayed 2020 Masters with a streak of tournament finishes that resemble numbers on a miniature golf scorecard: 2, 1, 2, 1, 6, 2. One of those wins included a 30-under-par domination that left his closest pursuer 11 strokes behind, and even the outlier, the 6 in the U.S. Open, is no cause for shame.
Again ranked No. 1 in the world, he teed off at 3:10 p.m. Thursday in the 84th Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, and the only surprise would be if he is not among the contenders at tournament’s end.
Which Dustin is better: then or now?
“I feel like I’m playing really, really well,” Johnson said. “It’s probably the best I’ve played in my career, yeah, but it’s more consistent. ... There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but it’s very consistent as far as day in and day out, my shot shape, my flight and controlling my distance.”
Compared to 2017?
“It’s really similar, very similar,” he said. “Obviously, I was playing very well coming into the (2017) Masters. ... The game was in really good form. It’s really similar to what it was then.”
Those who watched Johnson develop in the acclaimed South Carolina junior golf program are not surprised. Born in Columbia, he sparkled at Dutch Fork High, won a couple of Columbia City titles, earned All-American honors at Coastal Carolina University in preparing to carve out professional achievements to envy.
Johnson’s numbers tell his story. He’s been No. 1 in the world for 107 weeks, trailing only Tiger Woods and Greg Norman in that category. He has a streak of consecutive seasons with a tournament win to start his career, 13, a distinction shared only with Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
The list that suggests Hall of Fame membership is in his future goes on, but the theme is clear.
“That’s the type talent he has,” said Aiken’s Kevin Kisner, Johnson’s four-ball partner in junior golf who is No. 34 in the world rankings.
But Johnson did not reach that plateau by accident. Columbia-area pro Jimmy Koosa recalls working with Johnson in his formative golf years — focusing on fundamentals — and thinking, “With his work ethic, he’s got a chance to be really good.”
Always long thanks to Koosa’s emphasis on swinging hard, Johnson needed to hone his short game to reach the top.
“I’ve put a lot of work in, especially on the wedges, being able to control my distance with wedges,” he said and also pointed to additional work with his putting. “It’s very consistent right now and I’m very pleased with where the game is, so I’d say it’s pretty good.”
The knock on Johnson, whose 23 PGA Tour victories include only one major, is the big ones that got away. He had the penalty in the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits; he fanned an iron out of bounds late in the Open Championship at Royal St. George’s; and he three-putted the last hole in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.
Still, his 19 top-10 finishes in 43 major starts — and six top-10s in his last 10 majors — are strong, and he said his laid-back appearance on the course is deceiving.
“I definitely get excited, and I can feel it coming down the stretch because I want to win,” he said. “I get maybe more excited afterwards than I do right there in the moment because I’m so focused on what I’m doing. I don’t know how to explain it other that I’m just really focused what I’m doing and not really focused on the outcome.”
Johnson was 3-under par through nine holes Thursday before play was suspended for darkness. He’ll finish his first round first thing Friday morning.
Johnson has finished in the top 10 in his last four Masters, including a tie for second a year ago “when I felt like I played really good golf. ... Hit some good putts. They were just burning the edges. It was a lot of fun.
“I’ve been in this situation enough times on Sundays in majors where I an feed off those experiences and know what to expect. ... As long as the game stays in good form, I’m hopefully going be around here on Sunday and have a chance to win.”
His game says he will.
Masters TV details
Friday: 1–5:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday: 1-5 p.m., CBS
Sunday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., CBS
Masters 2020 odds
The top 10 favorites in Augusta, according to VegasInsider.com
Bryson Dechambeau (8/1)
Dustin Johnson (8/1)
Jon Rahm (10/1)
Justin Thomas (12/1)
Rory McIlroy (13/1)
Xander Schauffele (15/1)
Brooks Koepka (18/1)
Hideki Matsuyama (25/1)
Patrick Cantlaey (25/1)
Tyrrell Hatton (27/1)
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 3:01 PM.