It was the PGA Tour’s version on “The Last Man Standing” at Doral yesterday as Donald Trump’s baby exacted a bit of revenge from the players and Dustin Johnson was left standing alone, victorious on a difficult day in Miami.
Johnson won for the ninth time on the PGA Tour but not before we watched The Blue Monster rear up and take down a pair of the longest hitters in the game.
J.B Holmes squandered a five shot lead by the time he left the fifth hole as Doral paid him back for the blasphemously low round of 62 on Thursday.
Next up was the creative Bubba Watson who never met a hook or a slice he didn’t like. Watson had the lead and looked to be on the verge of claiming his second win of the PGA Tour season until three bogeys in four holes on the back nine gave Johnson the lead.
It was a week for the long ball as these guys hit it longer than anyone in the game. But it just wasn’t Johnson’s driving that had him holding the hardware, he played a solid game all week.
He led the field in driving distance, tied for first in greens in regulation, tied for eleventh in total putts and a respectable T19 in strokes gained putting. So he had both the long and short game that enabled him to outlast the field.
Johnson’s back to back 69’s on the weekend when the course played to a 72.5 on Saturday and a tough 73.6 on Sunday shows just how good his game was.
This extends Johnson’s streak of winning in consecutive years on tour to eight, the longest of anyone on tour.
Karen Crouse says Johnson is the favorite for next month’s Masters: “The player who has emerged as a favorite to capture next month’s Masters won an important tuneup Sunday, but it was not Rory McIlroy, the world No. 1, who can complete a career Grand Slam with a victory at Augusta National.
McIlroy, 25, who has one top-10 finish in six Masters appearances, closed with an even-par 72 at the Cadillac Championship, the World Golf Championships event at Trump National Doral. But McIlroy was eight strokes behind Dustin Johnson.”
Jim McCabe states that layoffs seem to benefit Johnson: “That Johnson, 30, held firm to finish at 9-under 279 and win by one over Holmes (75) and two over Watson (71) represented the second time in less than four years he’s marched into the winner’s circle shortly after a layoff. In 2012, he left this tournament and sat out three months, then returned to win his second tournament back, the FedEx St. Jude Classic. This WGC was his fifth tournament back since taking a six-month leave for personal issues.
Emphasis on “personal,” he said. “It’s not really anybody’s business.
What is a matter of record is the golf: It’s Johnson’s ninth PGA Tour win, his second World Golf Championship, and when the Official World Golf Rankings are released Monday he will jump to No. 6 in the world.”
Johnson’s road hasn’t been an easy one, “It’s been a tough road, but a really good one” says Johnson in GolfWorld.
Mark Cannizzaro believes in the old adage, that it is better to be the hunter than the hunted. “The moral to the Doral story this week: It’s easier to chase than be chased.
That point was proven in living color at Sunday’s WGC-Cadillac Championship final round at Trump Doral’s Blue Monster, with the five-shot lead J.B. Holmes took into the day evaporated by the time he walked off the fifth green.
… It’s easier to chase than be chased.”
Cameron Moffit of Golf.com thinks Johnson may be on the verge of something special, “The fact that he won without really putting very well speaks to his potential. And I was encouraged to see that Dustin was much more articulate in his comments to the media, which in his case may come from making more of an effort. He’s always been the most gifted American player of his generation, but now that he’s making better decisions on and off the course, he could be dangerous in the majors, where every decision can have huge consequences.”
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