Will Shakespeare never got a chance to see the modern game of golf but he sure came up with the right phrase for the No. 1 ranking that goes to the best player.
You know — “Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown.”
Dustin Johnson has been the No. 1 player in the world for 23 weeks now, which isn’t very long. It’s basically enough time for a cup of coffee when you look back on that guy named Eldrick and how long he was perched atop his throne.
The problem with being No. 1 is the expectations. There are plenty, especially when major championships roll around and this season has been one major disaster for Johnson, who came up with some eye-opening stuff this week up in Canada.
There are not a lot of golf writers left in the world when it comes to newspapers but there are still gaggles of people who show up under the “media” tag. Of course they were interested in checking on the world’s No. 1, especially considering that his last three events have been his worst in the past three years.
D.J. gave them this eye-opening assessment:
“I’m still feeling the effects of it. No pain or anything like that. But it’s still a little tight. I’m having to get worked on a good bit just to try to loosen up those muscles and those tendons where it got injured.”
Johnson was referring to the slip-and-fall that took him right out of The Masters a little more than three months ago. Which leaves us wondering when we will see that D.J. that went back-to-back-to-back in the winner’s circle at L.A., then the WGC-Mexico followed by the Match Play?
Missed cuts at places like The Memorial then the U.S. Open were eye-opening but then D.J. and his understudy — Brooks Koepka — both took nearly four weeks off following Koepka’s break-through at Erin Hills. Both found out that you don’t “time-off” your way into a major championship. Koepka played well but faded at Royal Birkdale and D.J.’s final round 77 left him in a tie for 54th.
Which brings us to Glen Abbey and this week’s Canadian Open.
Johnson got off to a really nice start Thursday, made four front-nine birdies before mid-afternoon rain and lightning sent the field to the clubhouse. When play resumed, D.J. went bogey-bogey right out of the box on 10 and 11, which makes you wonder about that back of his. He did bounce back with a birdie at the par three 12th and helped himself a bunch with a 15-foot eagle putt at the par five 13th.
The Dustin Johnson from earlier in the season wouldn’t have made any bogeys. He picked up another coming home, shot 67 and found himself a couple of shots off the overnight lead held by a bunch of guys you wouldn’t get out of bed to watch.
Maybe this is the week D.J. rebounds a bit, the next three days will tell.
He just doesn’t look anything like the player he was a few months back and certainly isn’t carrying the No. 1 ranking very well.
There’s a new No. 2 back in town — that Jordan Spieth kid who just turned 24.
No need to panic, D.J. isn’t that kinda guy. Although he also confessed that he may be running low on confidence.
“A little lack of confidence, maybe,” he admitted. “For 10 or 12 months leading up to the Masters, I had been playing really good golf, but it’s just been a little bit of a struggle to get back. I’ve had to put in a lot of work just to get back where I was, and I’m starting to see signs of it.”
He’s got the rest of this week then next week’s WGC event then the PGA.
He’ll probably find out it’s better to play his way into the PGA then “time-off” his way into the Open Championship.
