Seeking back-to-back Masters, SC native Dustin Johnson’s game has ‘come together’

The eve of the 85th Masters is an ideal time to pause and appreciate just how outstanding Dustin Johnson’s professional golf career has been and to look ahead to the next few days at Augusta National.

The 24 PGA Tour tournament wins that includes hoisting the championship trophy in the 2016 U.S. Open and donning the Green Jacket at the 2020 Masters speak for themselves in a career that begin at the old Weed Hill Driving Range in Irmo.

Only Tiger Woods and Greg Norman have been ranked No. 1 in the world more weeks, and his active streak of winning a PGA Tour tournament for 14 consecutive years to start a career belongs in territory occupied by guys named Jack, Arnie and Tiger.

Indeed, examine his record and “extended bad play” is nowhere to be found. Starting with the 2016 seasons, he’s won more tournaments, 14, than he’s missed cuts, 9.

He comes to Augusta National to begin the Masters on Thursday in what qualifies as a slump for him. His last three stroke-play finishes have been a tie for eighth with a fail-to-challenge final round followed by ties for 54th and 48th.

Time to fret?

“I mean, it’s golf,” Johnson said in previewing his title defense at Augusta National. “It’s a game that one day you’re on, one day you’re off. I’ve gone through some spells where I wasn’t playing that well, but generally for me, I found out if I go out and keep working on it, eventually it’s going to come back around.”

That knowledge is one reason he shrugs off his recent tournament performances and looks forward to the year’s first men’s major championship. The oddsmakers concur, making him a 9-1 favorite.

His game “is getting there,” he said. “Sometimes playing in Hawaii with a lot of wind, L.A. with a lot of wind, Saudi with a lot of wind ... sometimes I get just a little bit off. I think that was it for me. Just my setup. My posture was just a little bit off.”

Johnson, a Columbia native who grew up in Irmo, helped Dutch Fork High win a state championship and made All-American at Coastal Carolina, came into the 2020 delayed Masters with finishes of 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 6th and 1st in his six previous starts. Since winning in Saudi Arabia in early February, his resume includes those three, for him, rather pedestrian stroke-play tournaments and a 1-1-1 record in the Match Play.

“It’s in good shape,” he said in assessing his game. “Maybe not quite as good as it was in November, but I feel like it’s come together. I’m starting to hit a lot of the same shots and getting a lot more comfortable over the golf ball. Yeah, I feel like it’s in pretty good form.”

Johnson shattered multiple tournament records in winning the November Masters on a rain-softened course. With the treasured layout now firm and fast, he foresees a tougher challenge — but, he said, “It’s still the same.”

“You’ve got to hit numbers,” he said. “No matter if the ball is spinning back or staying in place or bouncing forward, you’ve got to hit quality golf shots and land them in the spots you want to.

“But with the course being firm and fast like it is, you’re definitely going to have to be a little more careful about where you hit the ball.”

And don’t think for a minute that he has thrived at Augusta National only in soft conditions. Prior to winning in November, his recent Masters’ performance sheet looks like this: T6th in 2015, T4th in ‘16, T10th in ’18 and T2nd in ’19 before his victory last year. He withdrew with a back injury in 2017 while on the 2020-like streak.

His secret? His fade off the tee “is not really better suited for here,” he said. “I just started driving it straight so I didn’t get into so much trouble. That’s about it.”

And his quest to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to have won back-to-back Masters?

“It’s a new year; it’s a new tournament,” Johnson said. “The mindset doesn’t change at all. I come in, I’m ready for the event, just going out and seeing how the course is playing, working on shots I need to work on. That’s the mindset and it’s not going to change.”

Play anywhere near like he did in November, and neither will the results.

Watch the Masters live: What time, what channel

▪ Thursday-Friday: 3-7:30 p.m., ESPN

▪ Saturday: 3-7 p.m., CBS

▪ Sunday: 2-7 p.m., CBS

Masters.com and the ESPN app also will stream the ESPN/CBS coverage along with channels devoted to featured groups, Holes 4, 5 and 6, Amen Corner and Holes 15 and 16. That coverage will begin at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and 10:15 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Who is the amateur golfer playing with Dustin Johnson?

Tyler Strafaci is a 22-year-old Georgia Tech graduate whose grandfather Frank Strafaci Sr. played in two Masters tournaments.

What time does Dustin Johnson tee off today?

Listed with Thursday-Friday start times; a-denotes amateur

8 a.m.-11:06 a.m. — Michael Thompson, Hudson Swafford

8:12 a.m.-11:18 a.m. — Sandy Lyle, Matt Jones, Dylan Frittelli

8:24 a.m.-11:30 a.m. — Ian Woosnam, Jim Herman, Stewart Cink

8:36 a.m.-11:42 a.m. — Sebastian Munoz, Henrik Stenson, Robert Streb

8:48 a.m.-11:54 a.m. — Bernhard Langer, Will Zalatoris, a-Joe Long

9 a.m.-12:12 p.m. — Brian Harman, Ian Poulter, Brendon Todd

9:12 a.m.-12:24 p.m. — Charl Schwartzel, Si Woo Kim, Corey Conners

9:24 a.m.-12:36 p.m. — Danny Willett, Joaquin Niemann, Kevin Kisner

9:36 a.m.-12:48 p.m. — Jason Day, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Champ

9:48 a.m.-1 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Harris English, Abraham Ancer

10:06 a.m.-1:12 p.m. — Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

10:18 a.m.-1:24 p.m. — Sergio Garcia, Webb Simpson, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

10:30 a.m.-1:36 p.m. — Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, a-Tylre Strafaci

10:42 a.m.-1:48 p.m. — Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy

10:54 a.m.-2 p.m. — Patrick Reed, Daniel Berger, Paul Casey

11:06 a.m.-8 a.m. — Vijay Singh, Martin Laird

11:18 a.m.-8:12 a.m. — Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Brian Gay

11:30 a.m.-8:24 a.m. — Carlos Ortiz, Mackenzie Hughes, Bernd Wiesberger

11:42 a.m.-8:36 a.m. — Mike Weir, C.T. Pan, Robert MacIntyre

11:54 a.m.-8:48 a.m. — Jose Maria Olazabal, Matt Wallace, Lanto Griffin

12:12 p.m.-9 a.m. — Victor Perez, Jason Kokrak, Marc Leishman

12:24 p.m.-9:12 a.m. — Fred Couples, Francesco Molinari, a-Charles Osborne

12:36 p.m.-9:24 a.m. — Zach Johnson, Kevin Na, Gary Woodland

12:48 p.m.-9:36 a.m. — Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Matt Kuchar

1 p.m.-9:48 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton, Ryan Palmer

1:12 p.m.-10:06 a.m. — Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler

1:24 p.m.-10:18 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Sungjae Im, Matt Fitzpatrick

1:36 p.m.-10:30 a.m. — Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, Max Homa

1:48 p.m.-10:42 a.m. — Tony Finau, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas

2 p.m.-10:54 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Collin Morikawa

This story was originally published April 7, 2021 at 1:54 PM.