Late bloomer Johnson has big three on the run
there’S one sure-fire way to get the attention of golf’s big three and that’s to hit the ball 350 yards down the middle with unnerving regularity.
that’s how it has been for Dustin Johnson over the past month and that is largely how he has eclipsed Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and rory Mcilroy to be heading to the Open at royal troon next week holding the game’s hottest hand.
Some players struggle to get out of bed after winning the US Open but Johnson sauntered into Ohio last week and claimed his next event as well, the WGC-Bridgestone invitational, shooting 66-66 around a difficult Firestone course over the weekend.
You have to go all the way back to 1950 and seven Opens at troon to find the last non-american champion and Johnson will now be favoured by plenty to continue that winning streak.
how has the game’s best athlete gone from something of an underachiever to serial winner at the age of 32? Sure, happiness in the arms of fiancee Paulina and son tatum helps a lot, as does the obvious improvement in his wedge play and putting.
But hitting plenty more fairways after switching from a natural draw off the tee to a fade means he is invariably left standing in the middle of the short stuff, 40 yards beyond the drives of his playing partners, with a short iron in his hand.
no wonder the game suddenly feels easy.
even world no1 Day cracked on Sunday, blowing a two-shot lead after a bogey on the 15th and then a double on the 16th. Given the aussie calls Ohio home these days, it must have been a chastening loss.
not surprisingly, the big three are all heading over to troon early as they seek to rein in the languid huge hitter from South Carolina. Mcilroy will get there on thursday, followed by Day on Friday and Spieth on Saturday.
all three have seen their thunder stolen in turn this year, yet all three are not far away from their best stuff. all three are certainly not lacking in motivation.
Set up beautifully, isn’t it? HERE’S one of those court verdicts that leave you wondering what planet the judge comes from. In Virginia, two parents in a bitter custody battle came before the family court. During their seven years of squabbling their 10-year-old daughter had developed into a golf prodigy, winning 11 of the last 12 tournaments she had entered and drawing rave reviews from one of the all-time great teachers in Bob Toski. And the judge’s ruling? The child should not play competitive golf of any description for a year. Now, yes, the father comes across as an arrogant sort, going into the courtroom without a lawyer; a domineering type, too, for what sane parent allows a young child to practice for up to six hours each day? But so bad you take it out on the child who has set her heart on becoming a pro and stop her playing the game at all? A child so good she would walk into a top American university for free on a golf scholarship if she progresses? Naturally the dad has appealed. Let’s hope he’s learned some humility and gets himself a top lawyer.