No. 1 Dustin Johnson works on lining up putting game
With its tight turns, thin fairways, small greens and overhanging limbs rimming the holes, one would think Harbour Town Golf Links’ narrow confines would not be a course for a horse like Dustin Johnson. Think again.
“Last time I checked, he’s the No. 1 golfer in the world. He is the best golfer on the planet,” said Wesley Bryan, who last year conquered Harbour Town to win his first PGA Tour title in the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.
“It’s an advantage to have that length, especially on this golf course,” Bryan continued. “It’s definitely not a golf course that I would say doesn’t fit his game, because if the game of golf is being played, he’s the best on the planet.
“So, yeah, I honestly think he has a good chance.”
So, too, does Johnson. First off, he made 10 birdies in Wednesday’s pro-am. Secondly, while one of the longest players in the game will hit his driver — his best weapon in the bag — about five times a round, he can still pump a 2-iron out there with guys who are using driver.
And he’s pretty good with the short- and mid-irons in his hands.
“Obviously it’s a different golf course than we play,” Johnson said. “But it’s just like any other golf course. There’s a spot you’re supposed to hit it to and you go from there. It doesn’t matter where you play or what course it is, you’ve still got to hit good golf shots no matter what you’re hitting off the tee.
“I like this golf course. I like tight, tree-lined golf courses; it’s what I grew up playing. It’s not like it’s anything new.”
What is new is Johnson in the field; he hasn’t played the tournament since 2009. In past years, he took a vacation after playing in the Masters. But this year, he said, he’s waiting one week before taking a break.
Plus, this is the 50th anniversary of the tournament in the state he was born. And he loves the smooth, Southern vibe that floats in off the Calibogue Sound.
Now if he can just get the putter working. While Johnson,
33, isn’t concerned about his driver, even on this 7,099-yard,
par-71 layout of tight quarters, the shortest club in his bag has his attention.
He tied for 10th at the Masters, held back by his putter.
“I felt like I played well enough to win last week. I just didn’t putt well,” Johnson said. “I struck the ball very well. I drove it good. I did everything really well. The thing that’s most frustrating is it wasn’t that I was hitting bad putts — I was actually hitting good putts — they just weren’t going in.
“At least if I was hitting bad ones I know why they weren’t going in. But I was hitting good ones and they weren’t going in it felt like on every single hole.
“I kept grinding and trying my best, but they just weren’t going in.”
Johnson has won 17 PGA Tour titles, including the 2016 U.S. Open, but hasn’t won since he captured the year-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. In six starts since, he’s had just two finishes outside the top 10. But so-so final rounds (for him) kept him just out of reach of victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm, World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship and Genesis Open.
“I’ve contended in most of the tournaments,” Johnson said. “I’ve been up there with a chance to win on Sunday pretty much every event I’ve played this year. That’s always my goal, to just give myself a chance to win. I felt like I’ve done a great job with that, not a great job at winning.
“But the game is definitely in good form. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the game right now.”
“Last time I checked, he’s the No. 1 golfer in the world. He is the best golfer on the planet.”
Wesley Bryan