Can Dustin Johnson quickly get over his U.S. Open heartbreak? He thinks so
In 2015, only three players have finished in the top 10 in both majors played.
Of course, Jordan Spieth won them both.
Then there’s Rory McIlroy, who enjoyed Sunday sprints onto the first page of the final leaderboard at Augusta National and Chambers Bay. Thanks fo an ankle injury, he’s on the shelf this week, the first Open champion not to defend his title in 61 years.
Who’s the third guy? It’s Dustin Johnson. The same Dustin Johnson who three-putted away his first major title.
On four different occasions — the 2010 U.S. Open and PGA Championship, at Royal St. George’s in 2011 and last month — Johnson has let majors slip through his fingers. He’s a Masters away from collecting them all and becoming this generation’s Greg Norman. Norman, however, got two majors, albeit before the scar tissue had built too much. Can Johnson overcome what he’s left on the green, in the rough, out of bounds or in phantom bunkers and finally win a major?
He seems to think so.
“I was happy with the way I played and the way I handled myself coming down the last few holes,” Johnson said Monday at St. Andrews. “I thought I hit the shots that I was supposed to hit. I did everything I was supposed to. It wasn’t too difficult to get over it. Obviously I was a little disappointed I didn’t get the job done, but I was definitely happy with the way I played.”
Johnson didn’t sulk too long after his Chambers Bay disappointment. For better or worse, he’s not the type to dwell on many things. He jetted out of the Tacoma area, skipping the trophy ceremony, and went to Idaho to spend time with his fiancee Paulina Gretzky, their son Tatum and her family.
The U.S. Open loss stung; it was obvious from Johnson’s choice of words on Monday. However, at 30, Johnson is arguably hitting the prime of his golfing life. He’s finished in the top 10 in four of his last six major starts. Johnson doesn’t view his litany close calls, particularly of late, as a source of frustration.
“I think it’s very good, very positive,” he said. “It gives me the confidence to know I have what it takes to win.”
He added, “I think every situation you can learn from, it just depends on the way you want to look at it. I try to look at them all as learning opportunities. Each one helps me get closer to actually getting a major.”
So, what are Johnson’s chances of doing just that?
Johnson isn’t a good putter, and it didn’t take the U.S. Open to show that. He’s 174th on the PGA Tour in three-putt avoidance from outside 25 feet, which is a bad sign on a course that sports 14 huge double-greens and often commands players to hit away from hole locations.
However, what Johnson lacks on the greens, he makes up for in distance, which should come in handy at a softer-than-usual Old Course. Despite his prodigious length, Johnson’s closed clubface at the top of his swing may make playing aggressively down the preferred right side of the course difficult.
Though Johnson’s game doesn’t seem either well- or ill-suited for links golf, he sports a stout Open record with four top-14 finishes in six career starts.
With McIlroy on the sidelines, Johnson seems the natural foil for Spieth and his pursuit of the single-season Grand Slam. Were Johnson to win, it would be a somewhat shocking tale of sudden redemption. However, he’s certainly not shying away from the role of spoiler.
Asked to assess Spieth’s chances of winning the Grand Slam, Johnson said, “Well, I’m playing in the next two, so we’ll have to see.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
