Johnson draws inspiration from ‘Great One’
Dustin Johnson, the world’s top-ranked golfer, is the most famous athlete in any car he’s riding — except when in the company of his fiancee’s father.
Such was the case in the disappointing hours after Johnson threeputted the 72nd hole to cost himself a shot at the 2015 U.S. Open. He stepped inside a large vehicle at Chambers Bay golf course outside Tacoma, Washington, and there was hockey great Wayne Gretzky — father of his fiancee, Paulina.
“I think it bothered him more than it did me,” Johnson said Wednesday after the Memorial Tournament pro-am. “I remember we got in the car after the round and he goes dead silent. No one says a word. I turned around and I’m like, ‘Guys, it was just a golf tournament.’ ”
Johnson has worked tirelessly to improve his game, telling CNN recently: “I was fed up with, you know, being good. I thought I could be better.” A small part of Johnson’s rise to stardom and his rebounding to win the 2016 U.S. Open has been his relationship with The Great One.
“Definitely being around him I’ve learned a lot,” Johnson said of Gretzky, a four-time Stanley Cup champion and the NHL’s all-time leading scorer. “And just how hard he worked at it to become who he was and how great he was.”
Over the past year, Johnson has evolved into one of the tour’s most consistent winners after a series of heartbreaks in major tournaments.
Gretzky didn’t help the 32-year-old sharpen his game around the greens — coach Butch Harmon deserves credit for the technical aspects — or push him to work harder in the gym. But having a sports legend as part of his inner circle, Johnson said, has done him good.
“Just listening to him tell stories and talk about what he did growing up definitely has helped,” he said.
Johnson and Paulina have a son, 2-year-old Tatum, with another child on the way. Family plays an important role in his career. His brother, Austin, serves as his caddie. Johnson has come a long way since leaving the tour in 2014 to address personal issues.
Jason Day, a Westerville resident and the world's third-ranked player, has noticed a difference in Johnson.
“When it comes to looking at him and his body language, he’s very confident,” Day said. “It looks like he’s hitting it to exactly where he wants to, like he’s hitting at a target.”
Johnson finished third at last year’s Memorial Tournament. Two weeks later, he won the U.S. Open, his first major title. Johnson has won three of his past six events heading into today's opening round at Muirfield Village and would have been a favorite at the Masters in April had he not been forced to withdraw due to a back injury.
“His next five years are going to be incredible,” said Pat Perez, the world's 41st-ranked player. “This guy's got it all figured out. It's gonna be so hard for guys to catch him. He's so in control of his game like Tiger (Woods) was. Don’t think he'll be as strong as Tiger. No one in my lifetime will be as good as Tiger, but Dustin will do a damn good job.”
No longer satisfied with being good, Johnson has attained his goal — with a secondary assist from Gretzky.