Dustin Johnson hasn’t lived where he grew up in a long time. He resides in Jupiter, Fla., a zip code popular with professional golfers of a certain status. There are a lot of trophies on shelves in homes there. Johnson himself has won 23 tournaments including a biggie, the 2016 U.S. Open.
But Johnson grew up not too far from Augusta National, 75 miles northeast on the outskirts of Columbia, S.C., in the towns of Irmo and Dutch Fork – “an hour down the road,” as he puts it.
That makes the Masters extra special to Johnson, who, after three sterling days that have given him a four-stroke lead after 54 holes, is poised to win the Tournament he coveted in his childhood dreams.
The top 10 after three rounds includes players from the United States, South Korea, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Colombia, Spain, Northern Ireland, England and Japan. Everybody will be chasing the man from Irmo and Dutch Fork, who happens to be the No. 1-ranked golfer in the world.
With his second 65 of the Tournament, a round jump-started by an eagle-3 on No. 2, Johnson is at 16-under 200, tying the 54-hole scoring record set by Jordan Spieth in 2015. Sungjae Im of South Korea, Abraham Ancer of Mexico and Cameron Smith of Australia are tied for second at 204. South African Dylan Frittelli is another stroke back.
Johnson, who got off to a hot start with a 65 in the weather-interrupted first round, is the first player in Masters history to shoot two scores of 65 or lower in the same Tournament. The performance has given last year’s runner-up the 54-hole advantage in a major for the fifth time – 2010, 2015 and 2018 U.S. Open and 2020 PGA Championship – and in prime position to convert it into his first victory when taking a lead into Sunday.
“I put myself in the situation a lot of times. I know what it takes,” Johnson said. “I know how I respond in this situation. I’m very comfortable with having the lead going into tomorrow. I’ve been in this situation a lot of times. I’m looking forward to the challenge. It’s still going to be a tough day. I’m going to have to play well if I want to get it done tomorrow.”
The best golfers possess different gears, for challenges stingy and generous, when pars are gold and when birdies are a must. Johnson proved himself in the first kind of exam by prevailing in the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club, a brute of a course where he won at 4-under par in his 29th career major start. He has taken control at the first fall Masters on a course playing softer than it usually does.
Johnson’s 5-iron from 222 yards nearly went in the cup for a double eagle on the second, leaving him just a 3-footer for a 3 that gave him a two-stroke lead at 11 under. It changed the complexion of the round, which just 30 minutes earlier had seen nine players tied for the lead at nine-under. Johnson added birdies at Nos. 3, 4, 7, 13 and 15.
Johnson is trying to become the fourth player to win a Green Jacket as No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, which debuted prior to the 1986 Tournament. Ian Woosnam (1991), Fred Couples and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002, 2005) did so. It is the fourth consecutive year Johnson has come to Augusta atop the ranking. In 2017, he had to withdraw after injuring his back on Wednesday. After tying for 10th and tying for second the last two years, he has made few mistakes this week.
He goes into the final round having played 30 straight holes without a bogey and has only two bogeys through three rounds, while leading in Greens in Regulation percentage (47 of 54). The fewest bogeys made by a champion in 72 holes is five, accomplished five times. Johnson’s tidy cards are the reason he is within striking distance of the Tournament scoring record of 18-under 270 held by Woods (1997) and Spieth (2015).
At age 36, with nearly two dozen victories, is three decades removed from his first taste of golf when, as a small boy, he accompanied his father, Scott, to the Weed Hill Driving Range in his hometown area.
“He would sit on my golf bag and feed crackers to our Doberman Pinscher,” the facility’s operator, Jimmy Koosa told The State newspaper in 2016. By the time Johnson was at Dutch Fork High School, where he helped the Silver Foxes golf team win the 2002 state championship by 27 strokes, he was a regular at Weed Hill.
“In high school, I hit a lot of golf balls at Weed Hill, so definitely remember hitting up there in the dark,” Johnson recalled Saturday. “They had lights on the range, and most nights I would shut the lights off when I was leaving. Have a lot of good memories from the driving range.”
Two of the amateurs in the field this week will have good memories after making the cut – at even-par 144, the lowest in Tournament history – and vying for Low Amateur honors. Andy Ogletree, who won the 2019 U.S. Amateur, is at 2-under 214, two strokes ahead of John Augenstein, who lost to Ogletree in the final of that championship.
One of the amateurs will be in Butler Cabin Sunday afternoon. Johnson has given himself his best chance in 11 trips to Augusta National to be there, too.
“Right now, I feel comfortable with every part of the game,” Johnson said. “So there’s not really anything I need to work on. Tomorrow just make sure I just worry about what I’m doing, not worry about what everybody else is doing. It’s a long day. I just need to be patient out there. I feel like I’ve done a good job of that the first three rounds, and tomorrow’s going to be a lot more of the same.”
If Johnson keeps playing the way he has – with power and precision and in control – it’s going to be lights out for those trying to catch up.
Masters Release, Nov 15, 2020
