Johnson holds on to win Travelers ChampionshipJohnson holds on to win Travelers Championship
With a final-round 67, Dustin Johnson made it more interesting than he needed to but nonetheless added the Travelers to his list of 21 PGA Tour titles.
Day: June 28, 2020
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Things had gone smoothly the first two weeks. That changed this week at the Travelers Championship, where golf’s return endured positive tests, needs for adjustments and plenty of resilience.
Dustin Johnson’s consistency shines through at Travelers ChampionshipDustin Johnson’s consistency shines through at Travelers Championship
CROMWELL, Conn – CROMWELL, Conn. – Given the disparity of their resumes and PGA TOUR travels, it was easy to look at the final pairing in the Travelers Championship Sunday – Brendon Todd and Dustin Johnson – and find yourself searching for ways to accentuate the contrast. One thought jumped out at me: Todd once missed the cut in 25 consecutive tournaments – nine to end the PGA TOUR season in 2009, all 13 Korn Ferry Tour starts in 2010, then the first three KFT events in 2011. Johnson, meanwhile, has never gone more than 30 PGA TOUR starts without winning. RELATED: Winner’s Bag: Dustin Johnson | Frustrated McIroy says ‘decision-making was terrible’ | Gordon finishes T3, earns Special Temporary Membership Digest that one more time – the biggest drought in Johnson’s 13-year career is 30 tournaments. And that’s only happened once. In fact, only three times has he had winless stretches of 24 or more tournaments. OK, the human spirit loves the underdog, so it was easy – and almost mandatory – to embrace Todd and how he twice has traveled back from the abyss to find success on the PGA TOUR. From the early turbulence in his career, Todd won on the PGA TOUR in 2014. Then over the next four seasons he missed the cut in 43 of 55 starts. Yet here he was again, bouncing back with remarkable character, the winner of two tournaments in the fall portion of the 2019-20 season, at 18-under and leading Johnson by two strokes as they began the final round at TPC River Highlands. What wasn’t to love about how Todd personifies the human spirit? Nothing, of course, except that sometimes you find yourself guilty of taking things for granted and Johnson’s record is one such example. It is, especially in this age of remarkable balance in professional golf, impressive how consistent he has been since joining the PGA TOUR in 2008. I would argue that inasmuch as there is hoopla over Bryson DeChambeau’s physique and marvel about Phil Mickelson’s longevity and fascination with all things Tiger Woods and infatuation with the Rory McIlroy’s warmth, what gets the short end far too often is Johnson’s uncanny steadiness. Might we say he’s a freak of nature? Austin Johnson, his brother’s caddie, laughed, but shook his head in agreement. “He is that, for sure.” It was twilight at TPC River Highlands, no more than a hundred people on hand in these strange pandemic days to witness what was Johnson’s 21st PGA TOUR victory. Starting two behind, Johnson made four birdies on the front, turned in 32 to overtake Todd, then seemingly headed into runaway victory with another birdie at the 10th. Ah, but this is the Travelers Championship, where wildness always happens – and it did so again. No surprise that Johnson hit some turbulence coming home – he pulled his drive OB and bogeyed the par-5 13th and he hit a 3-hybrid nearly into water at the short, par-4 15th, then had to roll up his pants and go in and hack his second shot back into play. “I hit (that tee shot) very poorly,” bemoaned Johnson, who did salvage par at the 15th with a deft third shot. “I don’t know what was going on with my tee shots.” He clearly didn’t come up with a remedy, because after a brief delay for dangerous weather, Johnson returned with his worst swing of the week – a sliced tee shot into a bunker at the par-3 16th. His third bogey of the day left him at 19-under, just one ahead of Kevin Streelman, who had burned the edge of the hole from 26 feet at the par-4 17th. Come on, if you know Johnson’s saga, a part of you was wondering if this would be yet another of those squanders. The 2010 U.S. Open, the 2011 Open Championship, the 2015 U.S. Open. Heartache, each one. But here is what sits at the heart of Johnson – he took ownership of all those mishaps and he has never failed to shake it off. But forget the slips at 13 and 15 and 16. What Johnson did at the par-4 17th (fairway, green, two putts from 32 feet) and the par-4 18th (on a day when he hit just 7 of 14 fairways he thumped it 351 yards dead center, wedged it to 18 feet, and two-putted for 67 – 261) speaks to the talent that has stood front and center on the PGA TOUR stage for 13 seasons now. It was career win No. 21 for a guy who arguably is the purest athlete on the PGA TOUR, a guy whose swagger along should be considered one of his 14 clubs. Oh, there were contributing factors on this day (Todd struggled mightily, failed to make a birdie, shot 75, and plummeted into a share of 11th; Streelman couldn’t birdie any of the final five holes; and Mackenzie Hughes produced too little, too late to fall two shy) but don’t dismiss the specialness to Johnson’s win. To start, there is something that shouldn’t get caught up in a logistical tug-of-war. This is Johnson’s 13th season on the PGA TOUR and he’s won at least once in each of them. Only Arnold Palmer (17), Jack Nicklaus (17) and Tiger Woods (14) have started their careers with wins in more consecutive seasons. No, he hasn’t won every “calendar year,” because he didn’t prevail in 2014. What he did do was win the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in the fall of 2013, which was part of the 2013-14 season. But while you’re splitting hairs and tackling either side of that debate, my intrigue shifts over to wonderment. Has this man ever – and I mean ever – played an entire season of shoddy golf? “No,” he said. “I don’t think so – and I hope I don’t start anytime soon. I mean, I put in the work, so I feel that my game should be spot-on all the time.” He indicated that was great to win, because it’s been a while, but guess what? It’s only been 20 tournaments since his last win, the WGC-Mexico Championship in 2019. When he won the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2016 it ended his worst dry spell, a whopping 30 tournaments. He then went five tournaments before he won again, then he went six before winning not one, not two, but three in a row. His dry spells since then? Nine tournaments, four, eight, two, 11 and the record one of 20. Honestly, enough about guys bulking up, crushing it long, playing into their 50s, and all the other storylines. How about deep appreciation for a guy who consistently provides a high caliber of play? We are told it’s tough to win on the PGA TOUR but the flip side is, it would seem to be impossible not to throw in a clunker of a season here or there. Johnson might be the exception. Offer that great respect.
Dustin Johnson wins Travelers Championship by oneDustin Johnson wins Travelers Championship by one
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) — Dustin Johnson won the Travelers Championship on Sunday to end a long drought and extend his career-long season victory streak to 13. Johnson closed with a 3-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over Kevin Streelman at TPC River Highlands. Johnson last won in March 2019. “I’m definitely proud of myself for continuing the streak and I want to keep it going,” Johnson said. “It was a long time between wins, though, and, so, hopefully it won’t be that long for the next one.” Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus each won in 17 consecutive years. Johnson did not in 2014, but is given credit for winning in the 2013-14 season from his victory in the fall of 2013 in Shanghai. The TOUR changed to a wraparound season in 2013. On Sunday, he finished at 19-under 261 for his 21st PGA TOUR title. Streelman also shot 67. Streelman, who made seven straight birdies to win at TPC River Highlands in 2014, had a 37-foot birdie try on 18 that ended up just short and right. He was two strokes behind Johnson on the 17th fairway when the weather horn blew for an hour-long storm delay. Johnson came out of the delay and hit his tee shot on 16 into a greenside bunker. His second shot went well past the hole and made bogey to cut his lead to a stroke. “I’ve had a few missed cuts, so to come back and finish a solo second is nice, but to be that close and perform and be right there, I’m just a little disappointed right now,” Streelman said. Johnson was at 19 under when his tee shot on the par-4 15th went left and came inches from going into the signature lake that surrounds the finishing holes. His first pitch didn’t make it to the green, and he hit the second to 4 feet to save par. “It was lucky, but a still had to made a good up-and-down to make par,” he said. Mackenzie Hughes, who shot a first-round 60, had a 67 to tie for third with 23-year-old Will Gordon at 17 under. Hughes made 48-foot birdie putt on 17, which he started well left of the hole and watched as turned right to the flag. He finished the round with a much straighter 43-foot birdie putt on 18. Gordon, who has no status on either the PGA TOUR or the Korn Ferry Tour, had seven birdies in a 64. His third-place finish was just enough to earn him a special temporary card and unlimited exemptions for the rest of the season. His lone bogey came on 17, and briefly dropped him to fourth place. “I knew the higher the better, so I was watching the leaderboard coming in,” he said. Johnson started the day two strokes behind Brendon Todd, and took the lead after three straight birdies put him at 20 under after 10 holes. Todd shot a 75 to tie for 11th at 13 under. He made a 7 on the par-4 12th. Bryson DeChambeau shot a 68 to tie for sixth at 15 under. Top-ranked Rory McIlroy tied for 11th at 13 under after a 67. “There’s been some really good stuff in there, but then just some really stupid mistakes,” he said. Phil Mickelson, playing his first tournament since turning 50, followed up his opening rounds of 64 and 63 with two 71s to finish at 11 under. “I’m looking at this week as progress,” he said. “Certainly the goal is to win golf tournaments, but keep in mind I’ve missed a bunch of cuts. I haven’t played to the level I’ve wanted to, and this week I came in and had a lot of great finds. I hit a lot of good shots, hit a lot of good tee shots. My misses were much better.”
Frustrated Rory McIroy says ‘decision-making was terrible'Frustrated Rory McIroy says ‘decision-making was terrible'
Rory McIlroy produced his best finish in the three tournaments since the PGA TOUR’s restart, but a tie for 12th on Sunday was hardly the confidence-booster the reigning FedExCup champ and world No. 1 was looking for at the Travelers Championship. In fact, he left TPC River Highlands frustrated and needing a break. As a result, he will definitely take next week off in Detroit at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, and may not return to action until the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, the second of two consecutive TOUR events at Muirfield Village. “The way I’m feeling right now,” McIlroy said, “I feel like a couple weeks off … just reset and start again.” McIlroy, you may recall, did not finish outside the top five in his first six starts prior to the suspension of play in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That included a win at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. But since the restart, he finished T-32 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in his first appearance at Colonial, then T-41 at the RBC Heritage in just his second career start at Harbour Town (and his first in 11 years). McIlroy was playing the Travelers for the third time in the last four years, having finished inside the top 20 in his previous two times. He has another top-20 this week, but the lasting feeling for McIlroy is frustration. “Decision-making was terrible the last few days,” McIlroy said. “Just some stupid shots and trying to take too much on at times. I think probably playing a little bit and just being a little more thoughtful on the course. Yeah, it’s just sort of dumb mistakes in there that I don’t usually make.” McIlroy’s final-round 67 on Sunday was a rollercoaster ride that consisted of three birdies on the front nine sandwiched around two bogeys, while his back nine included an eagle at the par-5 13th and a double-bogey at the par-4 17th. It was the kind of up-and-down inconsistency he had avoided prior to the break. “There’s been some really good stuff in there, but then just some really stupid mistakes,” McIlroy said. “Even today, like I got off to a good start and then bogeyed some easy holes. It’s a little too up and down, a little bit roller coaster-ish, where it didn’t really feel like that before we stopped. It was sort of quite consistent and sort of building sort of rounds very nicely, a lot of pars, a few birdies, not many mistakes. “Just over the last few weeks I’ve made too many mistakes, too many bogeys, too many loose shots, and that was sort of what it was this week as well.” McIlroy was in good shape going into the weekend, tied for fourth after rounds of 63 and 63. But he dropped out of contention after a rollercoaster – that word again – 69 on Saturday that included bogeys on two of his last four holes. He said he’s physically fine but mentally he’s trying to get back into form. “Just getting back into that tournament routine, tournament mode, and that’s why I sort of wanted a couple weeks off more than anything else. It’s just the mental aspect of it, and especially when you are frustrated,” he said. “I’ve been frustrated on the course the last three weeks, not being sort of in contention, and sort of sucks going off in the middle of the pack on a Sunday, knowing that you don’t really have a chance.”
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Winner’s Bag: Dustin Johnson, Travelers ChampionshipWinner’s Bag: Dustin Johnson, Travelers Championship
Dustin Johnson wins the Travelers Championship for his 21st PGA TOUR victory. Johnson has at least one win in 13 consecutive seasons. RELATED: Final leaderboard | Why DJ has two hybrids in his bag at Travelers Driver: TaylorMade SIM (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 661 X 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 95 6.5 (42.75 inches, 59.5 lie, D4) Hybrids: TaylorMade SIM Max (19, 22 degrees) Shafts: Project X HZRDUS Black 105 6.5 TX Irons: TaylorMade P730 DJ Proto (4-PW) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (soft stepped) Wedges: TaylorMade MG2 (52-09SB @54, 60-10SB) Shafts: KBS Tour Custom Black 120 S Putter: TaylorMade Truss TB1 Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0 PT Ball: TaylorMade TP5X (#1) Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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Leaderboard: Travelers Championship final roundLeaderboard: Travelers Championship final round
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