Return to No. 1 started at Travelers for Johnson
The stretch of golf Dustin Johnson played in the second half of 2020 was almost on a par with how Tiger Woods played at his zenith.
In his final eight events of the season, Johnson won three, finished second in two others and reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the world rankings.
The start of the 2020-21 campaign was just as good: a win, a second and a tie for sixth in his first three starts. Included in that was his second major championship last November at the Masters.
The results have not been that great in 2021, but Johnson remains No. 1 in the world by a comfortable margin. He has now held the top spot for 38 consecutive weeks.
“Any time for me that I get a win, it gives me a lot of confidence. I continued the good play and I felt like every week, I gave myself a chance to win,” Johnson said. “That kind of confidence keeps rolling over each and every week. I had it going pretty good.”
The stretch of tremendous golf began at last year’s Travelers Championship. He fired a thirdround 61, then took the lead midway through his final round thanks to four birdies on the front nine. He then held off Kevin Streelman to win the tournament by one.
He shot a 19-under-par 261 at TPC River Highlands. It was his first appearance at Travelers since 2014.
“Obviously, it was a great week, a big win for me, kicked the second part of the season off, I went on a really good run from there,” said Johnson, who held a virtual press conference for Travelers Championship Media Day on Monday morning. This year’s event runs June 24-27.
“That week, I felt like especially on the golf course, I was really focused on what I was doing.
Obviously, it (good putting), that was the biggest key for me. I played some really good golf, especially over the weekend.”
The golf Johnson, 36, played early in 2020 wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t scintillating. Then he got the next three months off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The PGA Tour returned in mid-June.
The Travelers Championship was the third tournament back. No spectators were allowed.
“It was super-strange (with no fans). I’m used to winning and having huge crowds there, lots of media, lots of pictures,” Johnson said. “It was a completely different vibe winning. It felt like junior golf almost couple parents standing around clapping for you.”
Johnson beat the best field Travelers has ever had — nine of the top 10 in the world rankings were competing that week.
The interesting thing about the great stretch of golf Johnson had were the pair of 80s he shot at Muirfield Village three weeks after the Travelers later to miss the cut at the Memorial Tournament. He withdrew the next week from the 3M Open after one round due to a bad back.
Then Johnson started to blister the competition. After tying for 12th at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude’s Invitational, he tied for second at The PGA Championship, won The Northern Trust, placed second at the BMW Championship and won the Tour Championship to win the FedExCup.
Johnson vaulted to No. 1 in the world rankings after winning The Northern Trust by 11 shots.
The U.S. Open was Johnson’s first event on the 2020-21 schedule — it had been pushed back from June due to the pandemic — and he tied for sixth.
Then Johnson contracted the COVID virus in October. He had to withdraw from the CJ Cup in Las Vegas, then quarantine in Sin City.
“I was fortunate enough I didn’t get sick. I felt bad for a couple of days, that’s about it,” Johnson said. “The worst part of all of it was having to quarantine in Vegas. Being stuck in a hotel room wasn’t much fun. I ended up missing two tournaments I was supposed to play leading up to the Masters.”
He didn’t play again until November, but that did not affect his game. He tied for second at the Houston Open before winning the Masters.
“I ended up having a pretty good week there (in Houston),” Johnson said. “That gave me a lot of confidence going into Augusta and obviously, I ended up continuing the really strong play at Augusta.”
Johnson took the better part of three months off from competition. Upon his return in late February, he tied for eighth at The Genesis Invitational.
His stretch of 14 straight seasons winning a PGA Tour event to start a career has tied Woods. He only trails Jack Nicklaus (17).
“The biggest step I made was really dialing in the wedge play,” Johnson said. “The biggest difference really was controlling distance with my wedge and throughout my bag, control of the golf ball.”
Next week’s PGA Championship in his home state — at Kiawah Island GC in South Carolina — his home state.
“It’s a great golf course. It can play very difficult, especially if the wind blows,” Johnson said. “It’s incredibly hard. I’m really looking forward to it. It will be a great week and a great venue.”
Johnson said Monday he prefers to play his way into major championships. He was scheduled to play this week at the AT&T Byron Nelson, but had to withdraw due to a knee injury.
“Unfortunately, the knee discomfort I occasionally experience has returned and after consultation with my team and trainers, I feel it is best that I remain at home and focus on my rehabilitation work. I am not pleased about this situation, as I was really looking forward to playing this week,” Johnson said in a statement Monday afternoon.
Johnson is scheduled to play the Palmetto Championship — a substitute PGA Tour event for the Canadian Open, which was canceled — in June the week before the U.S. Open, which is being held at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
Then Johnson will fly back East to defend his title at the Travelers Championship, this time in front of fans: the tournament announced a week and a half ago that just under 10,000 fans per day will be allowed on the grounds at TPC River Highlands. Tickets go on sale May 25.
“You have to hit every club in your bag and you’ve got to hit good shots,” Johnson said. “It’s a fun course to play. You make a lot of birdies, but if you are just a little bit off, you can make bogeys on pretty much every hole.”
JAMES MOVING ON TO U.S. OPEN SECTIONALS
Milford’s Ben James fired a 2-under-par 69 at Shuttle Meadow Country Club in Kensington on Monday to advance to U.S. Open sectional qualifying next month.
James, a junior at Hamden Hall Country Day and a 2019 member of the U.S. Junior Presidents Cup team, was one of four amateurs to advance. The others are Cody Paladino, a former State Amateur and Connecticut Open champion, Chris Pieper of Woodbury and Patrick Griffin of Unionville.