For Johnson or Spieth, a win would be major achievement
TULSA, Okla. — Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are examples of how quickly the landscape can change.
Look back one year, and Johnson was the No. 1 player in the world who had been runner-up in the previous two PGA Championships and was among the favorites every time he played.
Going into this PGA Championship, which starts Thursday at Southern Hills, he is ranked No. 12. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s his lowest ranking in seven years, and the questions have changed. Instead of when he will add another major, the question has become: When will he win again?
Johnson has gone 27 starts over 15 months since winning the Saudi International.
“The thing for me has just been driving,” Johnson said. He thought back to the Masters, where his accuracy with his driver was so bad that he switched to a 3-wood. That’s not a bad option for most players, but not Johnson.
“I’ve never done that in my life — 3-wood is the last club in my bag that I’d want to hit,” he said. “I’ve always felt most comfortable with a driver.”
That would be a good club for him at Southern Hills after its acclaimed restoration project. Unlike the last time the PGA was in Tulsa in 2007 and players were hitting mostly irons off the tee. Now that it’s at 7,556 yards for a par 70, the driver could go a long way.
“Obviously, this is a really good place to drive it straight for me,” Johnson said.
When he arrived Monday, taking those long strides up the hill toward the clubhouse, Johnson was asked whether it was his first time in Oklahoma.
“Yep,” he said. “And after this week, it will be my …” He finished the sentence with a smile. At age 38, and with no major on the horizon here for the next eight years, well, he’d like to make the most of his time in the Sooner State.
A year ago, Spieth was No. 28 in the world, a month away from ending a long victory drought but still far away from his game being back to the form that made him a major force in golf at age 21.
Now the 28-year-old from Texas is No. 8 and coming off a particularly good stretch that followed a missed cut at the Masters. Spieth won in Hilton Head, S.C., the following week and then finished one shot behind in Dallas last weekend.
The PGA Championship is all that’s keeping him from the career Grand Slam, which is one of the key talking points this week. Spieth brought up the missing leg of the Grand Slam as the “elephant in the room.”
“I’m excited to come here this week and just keep my head down,” Spieth said, “and none of those distractions weigh on me whatsoever.”
Also on hand is Tiger Woods, who still commands all the attention. The gallery was enormous for him playing nine holes Monday and again Wednesday in his final tuneup for his return to Southern Hills. Those around him thought it was a victory that he made it through 72 holes at the Masters in his first competitive tournament since a car crash in February 2021 resulted in severe leg injuries.
“I’ve gotten stronger since then,” Woods said. “It’s still going to be sore, and walking is a challenge. I can hit golf balls, but the challenge is walking. It’s going to be that way for the foreseeable future, for sure.”