Johnson Wins Masters was part of all the headlines, which means Dustin and this Johnson shared a childhood dream. It’s the only thing our golf games have in common besides playing a similar ball and clubs that sort of look alike.
The Masters is my favorite golf tournament on my favorite course, and we found out on Sunday it is Dustin Johnson’s as well. He grew up 75 miles away from Augusta, Ga., in South Carolina, son of a golf pro, and he dreamed of putting on the green jacket, no doubt presented by Tiger Woods his own self.
And if happened.
And we saw some emotion from a guy we were pretty sure was wired differently. We didn’t think DJ had that kind of emotion in him until we saw the great television interview by Amanda Balionis of CBS in which she let him know it was fine to show emotion and she stayed out of his way until he could compose himself. Silence sometimes reveals more than words. Instead of him talking execution, etc., not talking and tearing up said so much more.
Great job Amanda and great job Dustin.
NOVEMBER MASTERS WAS FINE
Getting to watch a major championship in November was pretty cool, too. Sure it wasn’t the same as in April, and the course played differently because of the fall season and all that. But there was still plenty to enjoy. Note, Tiger making a 10 at the famous No. 12 and then grinding out birdies to finish was amazing, too. Only he can make a 10 look good.
Back to Mr. Johnson. He made it look easy. Then again, he has always made the game look easy with his casual demeanor and bombing shots. I’ve never witnessed him being so precise with his iron shots, and that’s clearly why he ended up on top. He never made a putt longer than 20 feet. He just hit fairways, greens and calmly moved around the best stage in golf as if he were playing with buddies for a few bucks a side.
USUAL MASTERS DRAMA DIDN’T HAPPEN
It looked for a while on Sunday that there might be some drama, but it didn’t work out that way because Johnson never really opened the door for it. Major championship golf is usually as much about the golfers who lose it as it about the one who survives it and wins. This time, Johnson just won it, got the kisses on national television and the green jacket, too.
Prior to Sunday we started to think Johnson might have a Greg Norman thing going with the majors, as in appearing to create ways to falter in the end. Four times Johnson had the lead after 54 holes in previous majors and didn’t win.
That was just Justin we assumed.
Not this time. This time he was just great.
Photo: thebiglead.com
