THIS IS THE MAN TO BEAT
To win the Masters you will have to see off top man Dustin Johnson, that’s what Jordan Spieth and Colin Montgomerie believe
IT IS an indication of Dustin Johnson’s current stranglehold on golf that even in his native Texas, with the Masters in such proximity, a Jordan Spieth media conference was dominated by discussion about the world No 1.
The mistake would be in believing Spieth, or Colin Montgomerie for that matter, are in any way taken aback by Johnson’s stature.
“If there is a course built for someone, it is Johnson at Augusta right now,” a legend of the game Montgomerie says, although he’s concerned about the Irish star’s putting.
Johnson’s success at the WGC Match Play last Sunday means he has secured three wins in as many starts and seven from 17. He is the short-priced favourite for the Masters — which starts in Augusta, Georgia on Thursday — despite a best finish of tied fourth. In three Masters appearances, Spieth has not been worse than second.
“I think Dustin Johnson is the guy to beat in golf no matter where you are,” Spieth said before the Shell Houston Open, which began on Thursday and ends today.
“Put him anywhere, I think just about anybody would agree with that.
“He’s the guy to beat. If I play my best golf, I believe that I can take down anybody, and you have to believe that. But I think that he is the guy that everyone is saying he’s playing the best golf in the world right now,” he told The Guardian of London.
A Spieth smile followed, wrote the paper, as he was asked about any element of shock attached to Johnson’s stunning form.
“Not the slightest bit,” the 23-year-old said. “I believe you guys can all attest, I called this. I mentioned this going back years: ‘Dustin Johnson is probably the most talented player and it’s a matter of time.
“Once he gets that click . . . It probably was the US Open [last year], looking back on it now. He just got over that [major winning] hurdle. And whatever free-up he needed that we didn’t need him to have, he got.
“I’m not trying to say I told you so, but I definitely called this and I have been quoted as doing so.
“So I’m not in the least bit surprised that he is the guy to beat. And it’s going to be very difficult at this point, considering he was No 1 and he’s won two World Golf Championships in two starts. I’m pretty sure he’s got a big-ranking lead now.”
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Montgomerie said of the American: “If there is a course built for someone — and we used to say this about Tiger Woods — it is Dustin at Augusta right now.
“He is driving it long and he is driving it straight,” the UK paper quoted him as saying.
“He finished fourth at the Masters last year, without really being in contention.
“He is obviously the guy to beat if he can cope with the additional pressure that is on his shoulders. If he gets off to a good start, he will be a very, very difficult man to beat.”
But Europe’s former Ryder Cup captain doubts Rory McIlroy’s putting is good enough to complete his career grand slam by adding the Georgia event to his Open Championship, US Open and US PGA titles.
Other Masters hopes in the Shell Houston Open field include Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott. — Sports Desk