Weekend collapse costs Johnson another major
Dustin Johnson never stops showing flashes of his talent. It was there during the first two round soft his U.S. Open, when it seemed like he was going to run away and hide from the field.
But the weekend was a different story. Johnson had a putter that wasn’t cooperating on a consistent basis, and he missed the kind of putts you have to make to win the national championship. He shot a 77 in the difficult conditions Saturday to cough up what was a four-shot lead going into that round, then followed it up with a back-and-forth 70 on Sunday.
Johnson finished at 3-over for the tournament, two shots behind the winner, Brooks Koepka, also his close friend and playing partner Sunday.
“We’re good buddies,” Johnson said Saturday, “but [Sunday] when we tee off, we’ll be friends after the round, not during.”
It just never seemed like Johnson could get on track Sunday and give Koepka a run. Even with the course ripe for the picking, Johnson managed two birdies on the front nine to turn at 34 but bogeyed No. 11 to fall back.
When the two arrived to the 14th tee, Koepka held a two-shot lead over Johnson. Koepka then fanned a driver to the right and Johnson nailed an iron down the middle of the fairway. It seemed like there could be a charg eco ming.Koe pk a had to hack out of the fescue, but he then put a nice wedge next to the hole and drained the 10-footer for par. Johnson, meanwhile, hit a monster 8-iron from 200 yards to the back of the green, then three-putted for a bogey that essentially put him out of contention.
Johnson then bogeyed 17 and birdied 18, the roller coaster continuing all the way to the end. The 33- year-old Johnson did win this championship in 2016 at Oakmont for his lone major, and he certainly isn’t short on confidence. But Koepka now has two to Johnson’s one, and it seems like his talent deserves more.
“Just wasn’t my day but ended on a high note,” Johnson tweeted after the round when he didn’t stop to talk to the media. “Congrats to @BKoepka on a well deserved win!”