Dustin Johnson’s immense talents and athleticism are obviously a blessing when he plays golf.
But they can also be a curse.
Because every time the South Florida resident wins a PGA Tour event — which is often — you wonder why he doesn’t win more often.
Sunday’s victory at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, was another example of Johnson’s ability to confound. When the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Johnson hits his stride, there are few golfers on this planet who can beat him.
Johnson needed a final-hole birdie to shoot under par (69) in Thursday’s first round, leaving him tied for 79th place. He played his next 54 holes in a combined 18-under – averaging 64 – to beat Kevin Streelman by a shot for Johnson’s 21st career PGA Tour win.
It had been almost 40 years (1983, to be exact) since a player came from that far off the pace to win the Travelers Championship. Johnson has a gear that only superstars such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy can get to.
But even in victory, Johnson does things that make you shake your head. Hitting a ball out of bounds on the 13th hole Sunday, even by just a couple of inches, or having the good fortune for his drive on No. 15 to plug in a bank just above water – he had to play the shot in his bare feet — were some of those moments.
Johnson never is dull with a club in his hand. WWJD could stand for What Will Johnson Do? We don’t know, but it’s almost always interesting.
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Johnson held on Sunday and it marked the 13th consecutive season he has at least one victory on the PGA Tour, a streak he shares with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.
“Anytime you’re mentioned with those guys, you’ve got to feel good about that because they’re the best that’s ever played the game,” Johnson said.
One could argue Johnson shouldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence as Nicklaus and Palmer because he failed to win during 2014. The PGA Tour says Johnson’s streak is intact because it started the wraparound season in 2013-14.
Whatever. What Johnson has done is impressive regardless of the semantics.
“Winning 13 straight years on the Tour is a pretty big accomplishment,” Johnson said.
One place Johnson belongs alongside Jack and Arnie is the World Golf Hall of Fame. Only 29 players have won more times on the PGA Tour, and just one of them, Johnny Farrell, is not in the Hall of Fame. (Farrell, the grandfather of Lake Worth resident MaryKay McGuire Willson, was a finalist this year.)
Johnson has one major, the 2016 U.S. Open, when he showed a remarkable ability to concentrate, winning when he didn’t know if he would be facing a scoring penalty.
“Winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont is my biggest win for sure,” he said.
Of course, Johnson could have won several more majors had he concentrated better. Such as the 2010 PGA when he was knocked out of a playoff at Whistling Straits because of a rules violation on the 18th hole. (Johnson admitted he hadn’t read the rule next to his locker that stated players couldn’t ground their club in a waste bunker.)
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There was also the 2011 British Open, when Johnson’s best chance at holding the Claret Jug ended when he hit a 2-iron out of bounds on the par-5 14th hole. Or the 2018 Masters, when he was the overwhelming favorite, only to withdraw because he fell in his rental house.
At 36, Johnson has come a long way from his lifestyle where instructor Butch Harmon advised he needed to cut back on his “nocturnal activities” and caused him to take a sabbatical from the sport in 2014 to seek professional help for “personal challenges.”
Having two children with partner Paulina Gretzky – and no doubt the wisdom of the Great One, Paulina’s father, Wayne — has helped Johnson mature. His game didn’t need much seasoning.
Johnson has a legitimate shot at reaching 30 career PGA Tour wins, which would place him among the top 18 players of all time.
That’s a heckuva career for anyone. Still, you can’t help but usually wanting more from Dustin Johnson, fair or not.
But he sure is fun to watch.
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