Dustin Johnson is coming to Austin on an absolute high.
No, he didn’t win The Players Championship a week ago. He actually struggled, hit an angry, unforgiving flagstick on the historic No. 17 island hole and limped home in a tie for 48th.
Before that, he was uncharacteristically off his game in the WGC at The Concession in late February, winding up in a tie for 54th.
In fact, he hasn’t won a single big-time event since, well, all the way back in November. Oh, yeah, that one.
So why does he cruise into Austin Country Club this week as a big favorite in the WGC-Dell Match Play, a taxing, seven-round tournament featuring 64 of the top 69 players in the world that begins Wednesday?
Well, for starters, he’s still Dustin Johnson.
And he’s still ranked No. 1 in the official world golf rankings. Not exactly shabby.
That last big event he won? Yeah, it was the Masters, which got shifted from the azaleas in April to no fans in November and seemed more like the Dustin Johnson Invitational. He only had a stirring, Masters record-breaking, 20-under-par performance and showed the world just how complete his game is.
He broke par just five times in 18 rounds in his first five Masters. His last five have produced a win, a second place and consecutive top-10 finishes.
Johnson, who usually presents an image of robotic cool, actually broke down during his acceptance of the green jacket last fall and said he was blown away again when he returned to Augusta National recently with his father and his caddying brother, Austin, for the first time since November. He’ll share a locker with 1979 winner Fuzzy Zoeller.
“That was pretty cool, first time back,” Johnson said a few days ago. “Going into the Champions Locker Room and stuff. That was a really neat experience. First time I spent the night on the grounds, so that was another cool, first-time experience. And had dinner in my green jacket. That was a lot of fun.”
Johnson declined to reveal the menu he has planned for the Champions Dinner, but he feasted on the relatively benign conditions and softer greens of Augusta in late fall to win by five strokes.
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He’s eager to return to the form that has helped him win two majors as well as six WGC events, second-most to Tiger Woods. Because of his severe injuries from his car accident in Los Angeles, Woods won’t be competing in this year’s Dell tournament, which was canceled last March because of the pandemic. But 13 major champions who have 20 titles among them will be in Austin.
The field is still littered with marquee names like recent Players Champion Justin Thomas, U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Lee Westwood (fresh off two impressive runner-up finishes at Sawgrass and Bay Hill) and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy. Young stars like Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm will also be playing.
Local favorite Jordan Spieth has had a terrific resurgence this season, scoring well consistently with two top-four finishes, as the three-time major winner aims for his first WGC title after advancing past the group stage just once in four attempts.
He’ll be joined by two other former Longhorns in Scottie Scheffler and Dylan Frittelli, who scorched it at the 2020 Masters and became the last Dell entry at 69th in the world.
That spot became available when former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland was one of three PGA golfers to test positive for COVID-19 and withdrew from the Honda Classic.
Kevin Kisner, who like the other three Dell champions, will be on hand to defend his 2019 title. He also finished as runner-up to Bubba Watson at ACC in 2018. The draw for groups will be Monday.
And the 36-year-old Johnson, playing some of the best golf in his career in his 30s, always figures to contend if it’s a WGC event, especially in Austin, which he calls “one of the best cities we visit all year.”
He won the 2017 Dell Match Play — one of his four titles that season — when he went undefeated in seven dazzling rounds and never trailed in 112 holes. He took out other major champions Webb Simpson, Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson before besting Rahm 1-up. He reached the 18th hole just twice the entire week, and Rahm called him “just a perfect, complete player.”
“Every aspect of my game was pretty good that week, and I made some nice putts at the right time,” Johnson said of that 2017 event. “Obviously I do remember the momentum swing in my final match, which was closer than I would have preferred. Fortunately, I was able to finish it off and win the tournament.”
Johnson also posted his 26th victory worldwide when six weeks ago he won the Saudi Invitational for the second time in three years. But he also finished a combined 36 shots out of the lead in his last two PGA events.
When I asked Johnson how close to top form he is, he said, “I’ve got a little ways to go. Obviously, the game is not quite in the form that I would like it to be in right now, but I’ve got plenty of time to get it back in order leading up to Augusta.”
Not that he’s ever far off.
At the TPC, he posted 17 birdies and an eagle and came in at 1 under par. It would have been even better had his on-target tee shot on No. 17 struck the flagstick.
He, like many players, including the struggling McIlroy, has even considered DeChambeauing their already strong games.
Johnson said he “messed around a little bit” in October but quickly gave up on the idea.
“I mean, if I want to, I could hit it further,” he said. “I have a driver that I could definitely hit a lot further than the one I’m playing. But to me, the little bit of extra distance that came with it … obviously the harder you swing, the bigger your misses. For me, it just didn’t help. When I’m at my best and I can’t beat someone, then I’ll try and change something.”
Until that day, he’s doing just fine. What’s interesting is Johnson said he felt his second major somehow validated this great golfer and said the Masters victory “reassures me I am a good player and I can win big golf tournaments.”
Amen to that, whether it’s Amen Corner or even Austin Country Club.
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