Horses for Courses: The Honda Classic

NORTON, Mass. - His laser show of ball-striking prowess utterly overwhelming in THE NORTHERN TRUST, Dustin Johnson was forced from TPC Boston late in Sunday's final round by the ferocity of Mother Nature. Impressive as that thunderstorm was, it lasted just 75 minutes and wasn't about to put a halt to this dominating performance that Johnson had been putting together for four days in the FedExCup Playoffs opener. So, with the lights out, a light rain falling, and evening upon the TPC Boston stage, Johnson returned to apply seven more strokes to a masterful performance that came close to setting records in a variety of ways. RELATED: Final leaderboard | FedExCup standings | Inside DJ’s bag Closing with a bogey-free 8-under 63, Johnson finished in 254 strokes, one off the 72-hole aggregate record, and at a beefy 30-under, again one shy of the PGA TOUR record for four rounds. As wonderfully as Harris English performed (64-66-66-69), he played a role that others used to have when Tiger Woods was in his 2000 prime. Good gracious, those who finished third (Daniel Berger, 67-266) and fourth (Kevin Kisner, 66-267; and Scottie Scheffler (71-267) were 12 and 13 behind, if we saw correctly through our binoculars. But regarding Johnson's inability to establish the records, no one was offering condolences. Not when this 36-year-old freak show who is equal parts power, precision, and uncanny consistency tossed down numbers in an awe-inspiring performance that even met the man's approval. "My ball-striking was unbelievable," said Johnson, who at the end of 72 holes was ranked No. 1 in proximity to the flagstick with approaches, an impressive 28 feet. When you couple that ball-striking brilliance with the fact that he hit all 18 greens Sunday after having hit 15, 17 and 15 each of the previous rounds; that he led the field by requiring a mere 104 putts; that he was No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green; that he was tied for third in driving distance; and that he has been certified as unflappable, well … it didn't seem to be a fair fight. And, oh, how his numbers put a polish on his performance. • He had at least one eagle each round, five in all. Sunday's came at the par-5 second as he wasted little time in building upon the five-stroke lead over Harris English with which he began. • With his second win of the year, Johnson is now sitting with 22 career victories, tying a legend of the previous generation, Raymond Floyd, as well as two classic names from years gone by, Johnny Farrell and Jim Barnes. • After a relatively pedestrian start on Thursday left him 4-under and tied for 20th and three off the lead, Johnson played his first 11 holes Friday in 11-under, then the next in 15-under. For the week he had 23 birdies, five eagles, and three bogeys that were like gnats, barely noticeable. • As always, it is worth mentioning that Johnson has won at least once in every one of his 13 PGA TOUR seasons, the sort of remarkable consistency that is rarely seen in this era of deep fields. • Given that there were so many layers of excellence delivered by Johnson, it was nearly lost in the falling darkness that he returned to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. • And before the critics bemoan the power game that is pro golf in the year 2020, study a stat that deserves attention. Johnson beat the field scoring average by 2.328 on Thursday, then simply went silly. He was 9.529 better than the field average Friday, 5.329 better Saturday, 6.343 better on Sunday, and 5.882 better overall. Digest. Marvel. Admire. All of this coming, by the way, a few weeks after folks would suggest that Johnson did what he seems to do frequently - he let a chance to win a major championship get away. His history at the biggest tournaments has been well-chronicled, but the 2020 PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park should go down as one that Collin Morikawa won, not that Johnson lost. And what he did at TPC Boston should go down as definitive proof that the man's picture should be in the dictionary next to the word resilient. How does he explain his ability to shake things off, to not let anything bother him? To pile excellence onto disappointment time and time and time again? "It's pretty easy when we've got big tournaments every week," he said. "I didn't feel like I really did anything wrong at the PGA. It wasn't something that I was disappointed in." If there was one final goal for him Sunday, it was to reach 30-under, because "I've never shot 30-under for four rounds." So, in the darkness and with only a few dozen folks watching, Johnson got it up-and-down from in front of the green at the par-5 18th and reached that magical number. Only it wasn't magical enough. The record is 31 under. Unruffled as ever, Johnson laughed. "Oh, that's all right. Next time." There was good laugher on the virtual press conference, but don't be surprised if he means it. There will be a next time.

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PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – Tiger Woods will be around at the Genesis Open this weekend – unfortunately he won’t be playing. In his role as tournament host at Riviera Country Club, Woods will stick around in Los Angeles for his official duties and will also work on his game after a second round 5-over 76 has him well outside the projected cut line at 6 over. The 79-time PGA TOUR winner had a tough day off the tee and on the greens hitting just four of 14 fairways (one of which came after bouncing off a tree) and needing 32 putts. “I didn’t really play that well today. I missed every tee shot left and I did not putt well, didn’t feel very good on the greens and consequently never made a run,â€� he lamented afterward. After going out in 2-over 37, Woods birdied the 10th hole to put himself right around the projected cut. But then he promptly made three straight bogeys, two with three-putts, to cut short just his second full field event since back fusion surgery last April. “I didn’t feel very good when I was warming up with my putting. The greens were fast and bumpy, and I knew that,â€� Woods said. “I need to miss the golf ball below the hole … when the greens get this fast and this bumpy, anything above the hole is virtually luck if you make the putt. I kept missing it above the hole and that’s what was ticking me off.â€� It will be just his 25th career missed cut on TOUR in 330 starts once the second round is finished early Saturday. With two tournaments and six rounds of competitive golf now under his belt, Woods said he had good and bad to reflect on when addressing the bigger picture. “I’m both pleased and also not very happy with some parts of it. It’s nice to be back competing again and to be able to go out there and play, practice after each round … something I haven’t done in years … keep building,â€� he said. “(But) just the inconsistency of it. One of my hallmarks of my whole career is I’ve always hit the ball pin high with my iron shots, and I have not done that. “My wedge game is fine, but my normal iron shots that I’ve always had dialed in for much of my entire career, it’s just not there.â€� Woods also sighted the vast differences to playing golf at home versus on TOUR and said the only way to get better was to play more tournaments. He will get his next chance soon having committed to next week’s The Honda Classic near his Florida home. Playing consecutive weeks is a sure sign Woods is not worried about his back, instead saying only his feet and knees were sore – from old age. He will be joined at The Honda Classic by the 2012 champion Rory McIlroy – who saw first-hand this week how Woods played. “He’s very close, he is very close. Give him a little bit of time. He’s still figuring a few things out with equipment – sort of in between drivers – but he’s close,â€� McIlroy said. “He hits enough good shots to know that if he sort of pieces it all together, he’s going to be right there. I think everyone just has to be patient with him, especially him being patient with it and just give himself time. “It’s a good thing he’s playing next week just to get back at it.â€�

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