Johnson not looking far ahead
Four-time holder of 54-hole lead in a major, big hitter has claimed one
Form has Dustin Johnson as the hot favourite to be holding the US Open trophy on Sunday but history is a major red flag for the big-hitting world No 1.
Having won three tournaments, the FedExCup and the $15m (R245.5m) payday that goes with that title, it is hard to think 2020 could get any better for Johnson.
A major victory, however, would put a cherry on top of a campaign that has already seen the 36-year-old American land PGA Tour Player of the Year honours.
Johnson rolls into Winged Foot Golf Club as the man to beat, riding a spectacular run of form that saw him post two wins and two runner-up finishes in his last four starts.
Mr Consistency, Johnson has won at least one event every year since joining the PGA Tour in 2008 but has claimed just a single major victory.
Johnson has arrived at many majors as the man to beat but only once in 43 starts — the 2016 US Open at Oakmont Country Club — has he walked away with the trophy.
Four-times he has held or shared the 54-hole lead going into the final round of a major, including last month’s PGA Championship, and was never able to close the deal.
“I’m playing well,” said Johnson, who will tee off in Thursday’s opening round alongside fellow big-hitters Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in the game but I’m not putting any extra expectations.”
The US Open returns to the ferocious Mamaroneck, New York layout for the first time since 2006 when Geoff Ogilvy hoisted the trophy.
The US Open is branded as golf’s toughest test and Winged Foot requires accuracy off the tee and a surgeon’s touch on treacherous greens.
It is the venue where Tiger Woods missed his first cut at a major and Phil Mickelson endured perhaps the most gutwrenching of his record six runner-up US Open finishes.
Tied for the lead going into the final round and needing only a par to take the title, Mickelson double-bogeyed the 18th to gift victory to Ogilvy.
Chasing a 16th career major, Woods’s play has been erratic since the restart and he has managed one top 40 result.
For Mickelson, teeing it up at his 29th US Open, it represents one more shot at completing golf’s career grand slam by adding the one major title that has cruelly eluded him.
Having become a first time father, Rory McIlroy’s mind has been elsewhere and the Northern Irishman’s play has reflected that with only one top 10 result in his last six starts.
But after the birth of his daughter Poppy his focus was back as he finished in a tie for eighth at the Tour Championship, providing the former world number one with a jolt of confidence.
Big-hitting Spaniard Jon Rahm, who briefly held the number one ranking this year, has a pair of wins since the restart and could be ready to claim his first major success.
Also not to be overlooked is Justin Thomas, a three-time winner this season coming off a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship. —