This is a joke about Dustin Johnson I wish I had thought of first.
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In his first start since winning the U.S. Open, Dustin Johnson won another World Golf Championship on Sunday. When it finally did, Tatum’s dad hugged him once more, then strode away to accept his trophy, making it all look so easy again.
Is it really that simple? I mean, it’s completely different than what we do here. Key to his game was decided late a year ago to go to a fade off the tee instead of the draw he has leaned on for most of his career.
“Even though I didn’t have my best stuff today, I still had a chance to win”, Piercy said.
“My coaches, they like it, but they don’t care which way I hit it as long as I hit it straight”, he said.
That certainly has been the case in his past two tournaments.
Johnson now has the chance to win two majors and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational for the first time since Rory McIlroy in 2014.
Three birdies and a bogey on the opening nine set him up and three more, including a birdie at the 17th allowed Johnson to take control.
Johnson made a 16-foot putt for birdie at the 17th, while Day hit an errant tee shot left.
Johnson and Day were tied for the lead as Day teed off at the 16th and Johnson played the hole ahead.
Johnson then bogeyed the final hole after his second shot nicked a large tree guarding the left portion of the 18th green. It rolled into the side of the water, leading to double bogey. He had a one-shot lead and didn’t hit a green in regulation over the last six holes.
It was also his third win in a World Golf Championships events. “To be nipping at his heels makes me feel good….”
Now with two big victories in a row, his peers may be starting to realize that Johnson has found the inner strength to go with his game and his potential.
He won the Cadillac Championship at Doral previous year, and the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in the fall of 2013.
“It’s not just getting (to No. 1 in the world)”, Johnson said.
And that moved him to number two in the rankings – one spot behind Day – after a magical three-week spell.
Johnson, who replaced Spieth as the world No. 2 yesterday, will be beaming with confidence when he heads to the British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland in less than two weeks.
Johnson, 32, won consecutive tournaments he entered for the first time in his career. “I feel like my game is where it has been all year”.
“Hit a tree, going farther in the trees, bounce, cutting into the fairway and bounce up the hill into the rough”, he said.
There is some truth to that. The two-time Australian Open and Australian PGA champion missed the cuts in his previous five starts on the big tour. “I feel like I’ve been playing really solid all year”. “I talked about driving the ball well, and I didn’t”. I felt like I was good with it, but I was too streaky. “But the last couple of weeks I’ve just putted a little bit better”.
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“Disappointed, but I’ve got to try and focus on what I did great this week, move on, and try and get better for the next one, ” Day said.
