Johnson chasing repeat
World No. 1 hopes timing is right for another US Open title
Dustin Johnson wrapped up his final day practice round for the U.S. Open just as the sky began to rumble and the horn sounded to stop play at Erin Hills.
The timing couldn’t have been better for the world’s No. 1 player, as it has been the past two weeks.
As much as he hates missing cuts, the Memorial two weeks ago was a good time for Johnson to have a weekend off. It allowed him to spend two days in Wisconsin getting to know the longest course in U.S. Open history, realizing he would be a late arrival to Erin Hills because of some important family matters. River Jones Johnson, his second son, was born on Monday. He finds out today whether his game is in shape to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in 28 years, but his mood couldn’t be better. About the only thing to fear, outside of the thick fescue that frames the fairways at Erin Hills, is the house where he is staying.
It has a double-spiral staircase.
“I sit down when I go down the stairs now,” Johnson said with a smile. “I slide down on my butt.”
Stairs were the only thing that could stop him earlier this year. A winner of three straight tournaments – against the strongest fields of the year – Johnson slipped in his socks going downstairs to move his car in the rain on the eve of the Masters and bruised his back so badly he had to withdraw. He hasn’t won in four starts since then, and his game hasn’t looked as sharp as it once did. He concedes he lost some momentum.
Even so, he is the betting favourite at the 117th U.S. Open on a course that would appear to suit his game perfectly, especially with more rain Wednesday afternoon and a forecast for occasional storms on Friday and Saturday. The greens are soft enough that Johnson is getting yardages to the hole, knowing his shots won’t bounce away too far.
“I hope they play it all the way back on every hole,” he said. “Why not? It’s going to be soft. I hope it’s windy. I hope it’s long, but it doesn’t matter.”
Johnson isn’t one to feel much pressure — he doesn’t show much, anyway — even playing his first major as the No. 1 player in the world.
If anything, the pressure is on the USGA in how they set up the golf course, and the meteorologist to give an accurate forecast of the wind.
There are a few holes at Erin Hills where if the tees are all the way back and the wind shifts into the players, some won’t be able to reach the fairway or will face blind shots.
“It’s nerve-wracking, honestly, more than most Open sites,” USGA executive director Mike Davis said.
Johnson isn’t the only long hitter whom Erin Hills favours. Rory McIlroy, who crushed U.S. Open scoring records on a rainsoftened course at Congressional in 2011, was delighted to feel the soft turf under his feet.
Jason Day is starting to turn his game around, finally. Along with his power, Day is an expert with the short game, which should come in handy around the greens that feature shaved slopes instead of dense rough.