Branden Grace-Justin Harding a potential International Team duo?

SAN DIEGO – Dustin Johnson is often lauded for his stoicism, but he was so frustrated at the end of last year that he needed to take an extended hiatus from the TOUR. Johnson re-emerged at this week’s Farmers Insurance Open and, as you would expect from a player so preternaturally talented, didn’t look like he’d missed a beat. He shot a 4-under 68 on Torrey Pines’ South Course that was nearly five shots better than the field average and just two shots off the low round of the day on the tougher of the two courses in use this week. Jon Rahm, who has won both the Farmers Insurance Open and U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, shot 66 on the South Course in Wednesday’s opening round. This is just Johnson’s second start since he went 5-0-0 in the United States’ record-setting Ryder Cup victory in September. His only other event this season was THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT, where he finished T45. “I just needed a reset with mind, body, everything,” Johnson said in his pre-tournament press conference at Torrey Pines. “I was really frustrated with how I played last year.” Johnson’s results were especially tough to swallow in light of his fruitful 2020, which included his first FedExCup and second major victory, at the Masters in November. He was seemingly invincible in the latter half of that year, but he has not won since the green jacket was slipped on his shoulders. When Johnson was asked Tuesday how he spent his offseason, he replied, “I probably have not played as much as you think I have, that’s for sure.” He spent the time with family, fishing and doing “pretty much anything but golf.” He didn’t start practicing in earnest until last week. The club that’s been so key to his successful career was the one that caused him the most frustration last year. “One thing that I was really frustrated with was with my driver,” he said. “We got a new driver this year, the new Stealth driver, and I really like it. So that was one reason why I wasn’t playing or took a break, until I could get the new driver and start practicing with it. That was one of the main reasons why.” He still ranked 21st in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last season, but that was low by his high standards. It was his worst ranking in that statistic since 2013. He finished in the top five of that stat every year from 2014 to 2019 and was 11th in 2020. Johnson led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green in Wednesday’s opening round and shot 68. He was fourth in driving distance while hitting a respectable 8 of 14 fairways on the South Course, which annually has some of the hardest fairways to hit each season. He was second in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, as well, after hitting 15 greens.

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Here’s how the field qualified for the Sanderson Farms Championship as of 9/13/19. Check here for updates. Winner – PGA/U.S. Open Championship Jimmy Walker Winner – THE PLAYERS Championship Si Woo Kim Winner – The Open Championship Zach Johnson Winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard & the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide (Last 3 Years) Jason Dufner Tournament Winner in Past Two Seasons Ryan Armour Cameron Champ Corey Conners Austin Cook Dylan Frittelli Brice Garnett Jim Herman Michael Kim Patton Kizzire Andrew Landry Adam Long J.T. Poston Ted Potter, Jr. Chez Reavie Brandt Snedeker Martin Trainer Aaron Wise Sponsors Exemptions – Korn Ferry Tour Finals Chandler Phillips Justin Suh Sponsors Exemptions – Members not otherwise exempt Tommy Gainey Sponsors Exemptions – Unrestricted Akshay Bhatia Joseph Deraney Davis Riley Braden Thornberry PGA Section Champion\Player of the Year Greg Sonnier Past Champion of Respective Event Peter Malnati Nick Taylor Top 125 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Sungjae Im Lucas Glover Vaughn Taylor Byeong Hun An Wyndham Clark Emiliano Grillo Joaquin Niemann Adam Schenk Kevin Streelman Charley Hoffman Chesson Hadley Brian Stuard Cameron Smith Matt Every Russell Henley Brian Harman Michael Thompson Matt Jones Luke List Sam Burns J.J. Spaun Kyle Stanley Patrick Rodgers Cameron Tringale Sam Ryder Kyoung-Hoon Lee Scott Stallings Denny McCarthy Scott Brown Carlos Ortiz Sepp Straka Sebastián Muñoz Brian Gay Martin Laird Top 125 (Prior Season Nonmember) Doc Redman Major Medical Extension. Kevin Stadler Ben Martin Morgan Hoffmann Jamie Lovemark Grayson Murray K.J. Choi Brandon Hagy Leading Points Winner from Korn Ferry Tour & KFT Finals Scottie Scheffler Top 50 & Ties Korn Ferry Tour Finals from Prior Year Xinjun Zhang Matthew NeSmith Robby Shelton Harry Higgs Lanto Griffin Kramer Hickok Mark Hubbard Fabián Gómez Ryan Brehm Kristoffer Ventura Brendon Todd Henrik Norlander Beau Hossler Zac Blair Ben Taylor Bo Hoag Anirban Lahiri Nelson Ledesma Rhein Gibson Tyler Duncan Chase Seiffert David Hearn Mark Anderson Bronson Burgoon Scott Harrington Chris Baker Michael Gligic Robert Streb Sebastian Cappelen Tom Hoge Vincent Whaley Cameron Percy Rafael Campos Hank Lebioda Vince Covello Rob Oppenheim Michael Gellerman Cameron Davis Maverick McNealy Joseph Bramlett Tyler McCumber Doug Ghim Tim Wilkinson Richy Werenski D.J. Trahan 300 PGA TOUR Career Cuts Made John Senden Minor Medical Extension Stewart Cink Whee Kim 126-150 on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Shawn Stefani Peter Uihlein Wes Roach Ryan Blaum Dominic Bozzelli Bill Haas Johnson Wagner Roberto Castro Seamus Power Zack Sucher Josh Teater Harris English Non-Exempt, Major Medical Extension Ben Crane Beyond 150th on Prior Season’s FedExCup Points List Jonathan Byrd Billy Hurley III George McNeill Alex Cejka J.J. Henry Sangmoon Bae Freddie Jacobson Boo Weekley David Lingmerth Robert Garrigus Arjun Atwal Chad Campbell Derek Ernst Tim Herron John Merrick Daniel Chopra

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