Great One has been great help to Johnson
Gretzky teaches world No. 1 how to handle fame, pressure and sky-high expectations
PEBBLE BEACH, CALIF.— The world No. 1 and the Great One were a pictureperfect pair Thursday at Spyglass Hill Golf Club.
In front of a large mobile gallery on a spectacular day on the Monterey Peninsula during the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Dustin Johnson and Wayne Gretzky joked their way through 18 holes and played superbly as a team on, historically, the toughest golf course of the three layouts used in this event.
Gretzky, who plays fast and clutches a cigar as much as he takes hold of a golf club, got things going by making a birdie for the first time in his golf career on the par-5 first at Spyglass and, getting a stroke because of his handicap, the team was 2-underpar after one hole.
While Gretzky added another birdie on the par-5 seventh and a clutch save on 16 for birdie, Johnson was overpowering the seaside and treelined course with six birdies en route to a 5-under-par 67. As a team, they shot 65.
Johnson, who kicked off the year with a win in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, is on the first page of the leaderboard and in position to win for the third time here.
“I could do things a little bit better, but I had a lot of really good looks at birdie and didn’t really make anything. But, all in all, it’s a pretty solid day, pretty easy day,” said Johnson, who won this event in 2009 and 2010 and has seven top-10s in 10 starts. “I definitely need to drive it a little bit better. I hit a few bad drives, but got away with them. I’ve been driving it well for a while now. For my game, if I drive it well I’m going to play well most of the time.”
Johnson and Gretzky have had a visible bond since Johnson started dating Gretzky’s daughter, Paulina, in 2012. Back then, Johnson was ranked in the 20s — a freak of talent and power who, while winning a tournament a year, fell short of joining the elite class as he struggled with his short game and course management and didn’t buy in 100 per cent to preparation.
A shift to Butch Harmon as his swing coach paid dividends as Johnson has become one of the most feared in the game from 150 yards and in. Johnson became a gym rat and severely cut down the times he painted the town red at night. Johnson also became a father, as he and Paulina (they are engaged) are the parents of two young boys — Tatum and River Jones.
And Johnson has credited Gretzky’s guidance and advice for his ascension up the world rankings. Johnson often picked the NHL icon’s brain and said Gretzky’s support and belief did wonders for his confidence.
The two quickly became regular golf partners and talked for hours about how to handle sports fame, pressure and expectations, with Gretzky, in his mentoring ways, always stressing to never settle.
As Johnson changed his habits, his world ranking changed. He was 23rd in the world at the end of 2012,16th at the end of 2013, 19th at the end of 2014, eighth at the end of 2015 and third at the end of 2016, when he won three of his 17 PGA Tour titles, including his first major championship at the U.S. Open. He became No. 1 when he won at Riviera Country Club in February of last year and has stayed there for 51weeks as he’s piled up four more wins.
He has no intentions of leaving.