Dustin Johnson

Dustin Johnson’s Improvements With His Wedges Give The Long-hitter A Big Advantage

... and versatility. Admittedly, this is nitpicking of the highest order about the equipment choices of the man who just became the top-ranked player in the world, but it is still interesting to consider. The chart shows that Johnson’s average distance from the hole on approach shots hit from inside 125 yards is between 15 and 20 feet. It would be frightening for his opponents if Johnson made those mid-range putts as often as Jordan Spieth. Well, last season … he did. In 2016, Johnson played 87 rounds on the PGA Tour and gave himself 112 putts between 15 and 20 feet. Those are almost never second putts; they’re prime birdie chances. He made 30 of them (26.79 percent), which was third-best on the PGA Tour behind Fabian Gomez (27.08 percent) and Jordan Spieth (26.85 percent). Spieth is regarded as one of the best mid-range putters in the game, and last season Johnson was basically his equal. Because he is known for his length off the tee and famously three-putted away a chance ...

Just How Intimidating Is Dustin Johnson

... going to a place outside of the U. S. proved to be a good move. Sobel: Great course, good fans, terrific leaderboard. Other than a few cases of weak stomachs, what wasn't there to like about this event? The W in WGC stands for World, after all. It's about time these things started going international. 4. Inbee Park (and her flatstick) led her to victory (again) this week. With one putt to save your life, who do you take: Park or Tiger Woods in his prime. Coachman: This one is easy for me: Tiger. He made more clutch putts when he had too than anyone on the planet. If he was inside 10 feet, it was absolutely automatic. I am a big fan of how Park gets it done, and she is the silent assassin. But sorry Inbee, I am going with Tiger. Collins: Having been with them both on the course when they dominated, my answer may surprise many people. If my life depended ...

Dustin Johnson Keeps Rolling Through Match Play

... there he’s scoring. “I had a relapse for nine, 14 holes or what have you at the tournament,” Mickelson said. “Rather than that being the norm like it has been in the years past, that’s been more an anomaly this year. I’ve been driving the ball very effectively and hitting it well.”. This week’s format is suiting him, too. “In match play, you are not adding up every shot and if you happen to hit a bad one and make a bogey or double, it’s not that big a deal,” Mickelson said. “The fact that you are not adding up every shot allows you to be not quite as focused on every shot. It matters how you are playing against your opponent. “It’s really a fun test and a fun course. I’m having fun.”. In 12 previous starts in the match play, Mickelson has only gotten to the quarterfinals once. He said he has no explanation for that record. “I love the tournament. I love playing in it. Things happen,” Mickelson said. “Sometimes you don’t play great. Sometimes like last year Patrick Reed is 8-under through 10, 12 holes (against me). I try not to put too much stock in the results. I went out today and played the first eight holes ...

Dustin Johnson Wins Third Straight Event, Fifth Wgc Tournament Overall

... in the summer of 2014. It isn’t unexpected given Johnson’s pedigree (he has 15 PGA Tour wins), but it’s impressive that Johnson took over the No. 1 spot in the world and pressed on the gas. Rarely does the No. 1 golfer in the world play this way once he assumes the throne. Johnson went to No. 1 after winning the Genesis Open at the end of February. He’s won twice since then, taking home this week’s event as well as the WGC-Mexico Championship. To get to No. 1, you have to play outrageously great golf. Staying there is so difficult except, apparently, when you’re Dustin Johnson. Jon Rahm on Dustin Johnson: "He's just a perfect, complete player. He doesn't make mistakes.". — Jason Sobel (@Jason Sobel ESPN) March 26, 2017. There is no question now. Johnson is the favorite for the 2017 Masters. I don’t know that Las Vegas will agree with me, but I know what I’ve seen. That doesn’t mean he’ll ...

Myopia Hunt Would Love To Have Dustin Johnson Come By To Test-drive A Variable-distance Ball

... Carpenter put to rest the idea that Myopia Hunt might some day be prepared to host a U. S. Open again, even if an alternative ball was developed. “I wouldn’t hold your breath,” he said. “There’s a one-lane bridge into the club. The TV crews couldn’t even get in here. We just don’t have the infrastructure for it, and I don’t think we’d really be interested in shutting down the rest of the club.”. Still, he’d love some of today’s bigger hitters to come to Myopia Hunt Club, although he concedes players like Dustin Johnson might only need to tee off with a 6-iron on many holes. At its full yardage, Myopia Hunt plays 6,539 yards, about what it played when Bobby Jones occasionally got out there when he was a student at Harvard Law School. For perspective, no player in the field at the 1901 U. S. Open played at Myopia Hunt—not one—broke 80 during any round. The best 72-hole score to win a U. S. Open at Myopia Hunt was 314 by Willie Anderson in 1901 when the course was just 6,130 yards long. That's 46 shots higher than the current mark of 268 held by Rory Mc Ilroy and set in 2011 at 7,574-yard Congressional Country Club. Myopia Hunt is a private ...

He's Hitting It Over The Greens With Driver

... Wednesday. Earlier in the week, Rory Mc Ilroy was routinely hitting 8-iron 210 yards or more. “It’s interesting,” said Johnson, who is teeing it up this week for the first time since moving to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking following his victory at Riveria two weeks ago. “The ball goes really far, but it’s been fun trying to figure it all out.”. RELATED: Justin Thomas gives us the first taste of how far a golf ball goes in Mexico City. Indeed, some extra math will be needed for players and caddies week. Most, including Johnson, are seeing about a 15 percent increase in their distances. That doesn’t necessarily mean Johnson, officially the second-longest hitter on the PGA Tour behind only (somehow) Luke List at 314.6 yards, or other long hitters in the field have an automatic advantage over everyone else. “He can hit it too far,” Adam Scott said of Johnson. “He's hitting it over the greens with driver. I think there might be a couple of holes where if you're feeling good, you might want to hit driver and push it up near the green and pitch from 40 yards, which sometimes for us is too close. It becomes a hard pitch. But here, the way the greens respond, ...

Dustin Johnson Welcomes Change To Infamous Rule

... Wednesday - which are subject to a sixth-month commenting period and not scheduled to go into effect until Jan. 1, 2019 - Johnson would not have been penalized. Dustin Johnson was told he wouldn't be penalized at last year's U. S. Open immediately after his ball moved on the fifth green. The USGA controversially changed its ruling later in the final round. John Minchillo/AP Photo. The standards of determining whether a player caused his ball to move are among the proposed changes. Under the current rule, the USGA went by a criteria that weighed "the evidence more likely than not." If the new rule is adopted, "the player will be determined to be the cause only when it is known or virtually known to be the case.". Johnson did not touch the ball with his club. He grounded it to the side of, not behind, the ball. And yet when the ball moved backward, the USGA's take was that the evidence suggested "it was more likely than not" it was Johnson's fault. "Some of the ...

What Explains Dustin Johnson's Rise To No. 1? A Little Bit Of Everything

... two near perfect shots that put him in place to finally break through. “I had never seen him that crushed,” Diovisalvi says. “From last summer to now there is a newfound confidence. He literally said to me, ‘I want to win a major, and I want to be No. 1 in the world, and I’ll do whatever it takes.’ ”. Diovisalvi and Harmon believe it was more than just commitment that has made the difference. There was the experience gained, hidden by scar tissue, from blowing majors at Pebble Beach, Royal St. George’s, Whistling Straits and Chambers Bay. Harmon also noted a change in Johnson after he and his fiancé, Paulina Gretzky, had their son, Tatum, in 2015. “I really think having that little boy gave him a new sense of responsibility,” Harmon says. “He loves that little boy.” The couple is expecting a second boy later this year. Fatherhood has helped Dustin Johnson mature on and off the course. Harry How. On the course, Johnson’s game went from good to great when Harmon sold D. J. on the ball flight that won 18 majors for Jack Nicklaus, a controllable fade ...

Dustin Johnson Wins Wgc-mexico Championship For Second Straight Victory

... second straight. He reached No. 1 in the world two weeks ago with a five-shot victory at Riviera. Johnson's last test was from a fairway bunker on the 18 th, and he blasted that out to the middle of the green for a two-putt par and a one-shot victory over Tommy Fleetwood of England. Johnson became the fifth player to win in his first tournament as No. 1 in the world. His fourth World Golf Championship title is second on the career list behind Tiger Woods at 18. It was quite the consolation prize for the 26-year-old Fleetwood. His 40-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 66 put him alone in second and secured a spot in the Masters for the first time. He moves to No. 35 in the world and is certain to stay in the top 50 over the next three weeks before the cutoff to get an invitation to Augusta National. Rahm's two late bogeys gave him a 68 and a tie for third with Ross Fisher ...