The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Defending No 1 ranking at Pebble Beach will ‘be tough’ for Johnson
Dustin Johnson admits he faces a tough task to hold on to his position as world No 1, starting at this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Johnson won the Sentry Tournament of Champions by eight shots in January and was also ninth in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on the European Tour.
However, the former US Open champion has a huge amount of world ranking points to defend in the coming weeks, having finished third at Pebble Beach last year and then winning his next three events before injury prevented him from competing in the Masters.
And world No 2 Jon Rahm could overtake Johnson with a third victory in six events on Sunday, a meteoric rise from a player who only turned professional in June 2016 with a ranking of 551st.
“It’s just how it goes,” Johnson said yesterday.
“If I keep playing well and keep winning then I’m going to stay number one. But if I don’t play well there’s a lot of really good players that are playing really well right now.
“So it’s going to be tough for me to keep it, but if I keep playing like I am and how I should, then, yeah, I’ll be there at the end of the year.”
Rahm was fifth on his debut in 2017 and needs to win and see Johnson finish outside the top 45 to move to the top of the rankings.
Johnson and defending champion Jordan Spieth will play together in the first three rounds, with Rory McIlroy – who is making his tournament debut – alongside four-time winner Phil Mickelson.
McIlroy missed the cut in the 2010 US Open after rounds of 75 and 77, but has started the season with a tie for third in Abu Dhabi and finishing runner-up in Dubai.
Meanwhile former Masters champion Danny Willett will look to get his career moving back in the right direction in the ISPS Handa World Super 6.
Willett reached a careerhigh of ninth in the world after claiming his first major title at Augusta National in 2016, but has since slipped to 181st after struggling with injuries and a loss of form.
The 30-year-old was forced to withdraw from his scheduled season opener in Abu Dhabi with a shoulder problem and missed the cut in Dubai and Malaysia, but is hoping the unique format in Perth can help kick-start his season.
The field will be reduced to the top 65 and ties as usual after 36 holes of strokeplay, with a further cut after 54 holes to determine the top 24 players for Sunday’s match-play stages.