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Dustin Johnson - Is His Best Better Than Anyone Else On Tour

mikeg_74

mikeg_74

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I've been watching golf for a long time and I continue to scratch my head at what I see from DJ. Just a few weeks ago he was dead in the water. Couldn't break 80 at The Memorial and withdrew after a 78 at the 3M Open. Redeemed himself at the WGC St. Jude and was in the hunt for the PGA Championship. Then he boat races the field at the Northern Trust to win by 11. I am convinced his "best" is better than anyone else on tour right now. I don't even think Rory could dominate like this if he was clicking on all cylinders. When DJ is motivated he just has that extra extra gear that no one else has. His talent is amazing to watch and something I really enjoy because he makes hard courses look like your local muni.

I don't like comparing anyone to Tiger because Tiger is in a class all his own and his success or impact on the game of golf will never be replicated IMO, but DJ is the only player that I can think of in recent memory that has that extra gear the rest of the field doesn't have. He gets all kinds of grief for his laid back or "aloof" attitude, and probably rightfully deserved in some cases, but I am convinced he is a stone cold killer when it matters or when he is motivated. It's like he has that switch he can flip on at anytime and the field knows it.

I think Kevin Kisner said it best after the tournament this weekend: "I've been watching it for 25 years," Kisner said of Johnson's ability to dominate. "I'm pretty accustomed to it. When he's on, I just step to the side and try to add on to my bank account."

If that doesn't tell you all you need to know about DJ, I don't know what will. All he has to do is never take that Spyder putter out of the bag.
 
Hard to argue at this point. When he combines his ballstriking, putting, and distance with a steel focus he seems to be unbeatable.
 
I think most golf fans agree that when DJ is at the top of his game nobody beats him. He's averaged about 2 wins per year now for 15 years, which is incredible.
 
I have to agree. At their current very best, I think the best foursome on tour would be dj, brooks, rory and Justin Thomas. not sure if there's a clear standout among that group, but i'd probably put my money on brooks, and could easily be convinced to go onto the dj bandwagon instead.
 
No arguments here. It’s scary good when he’s firing on all cylinders!
 
Dominating performance and a credit to him for bouncing back. Hilarious he can win a tournament with a Truss putter recently then put trusty back in the bag and He smokes the field.

I would still take Rory at his peak but it isn’t by any wide margin, minimal at most.

Sure is fun to watch for such a “boring” guy.
 
I would love to see a tournament when DJ and Rory have it all working. Could probably add a couple other names also but I think those two are cut above.
 
I watched a little bit of DJ's 3rd round, and quite a bit of his final round. That was just some damn fine golf he produced.

I was really impressed with his green reading, and chosen lines that he rolled the ball on. All the other players had no answers for those greens. DJ, and his caddy seem to own them.

He may not win the over all championship, but he put on quite a show yesterday.
 
McLovin said:
I have to agree. At their current very best, I think the best foursome on tour would be dj, brooks, rory and Justin Thomas. not sure if there's a clear standout among that group, but i'd probably put my money on brooks, and could easily be convinced to go onto the dj bandwagon instead.
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I thought about this and I am not sure Brooks has the dominant focus DJ has. Brooks comes across as someone who cares what others think, where DJ doesn't and I think that's the difference. DJ doesn't come across as a player looking for accolades or pats on the back. Ignorance is bliss and maybe that's why he so damn cool under pressure because he just doesn't care what others think.
 
McLovin said:
I have to agree. At their current very best, I think the best foursome on tour would be dj, brooks, rory and Justin Thomas. not sure if there's a clear standout among that group, but i'd probably put my money on brooks, and could easily be convinced to go onto the dj bandwagon instead.
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Justin Thomas would be the one person I would put up against DJ best v best. They can both get hot and crush a leaderboard.
 
[QUOTE="mikeg_74, post: 9486427, member: 1599 Ignorance is bliss and maybe that's why he so damn cool under pressure because he just doesn't care what others think.
[/QUOTE]

I don't consider DJ to be especially "cool under pressure" because he has blown a couple of large Sunday round US Open leads. Sensational player for sure, but the reason he has only one Major victory I think is due to to some mental/pressure issues.
 
DG_1234 said:
I don't consider DJ to be especially "cool under pressure" because he has blown a couple of large Sunday round US Open leads. Sensational player for sure, but the reason he has only one Major victory I think is due to to some mental/pressure issues.
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that's why I went with brooks. It wasn't until this year's pga that I saw brooks have a poor round when victory was in his grasp. based on him withdrawing, maybe the poor performance was health related more than a poor day with his game.
 
What' he's been doing is awfully impressive. I'm still looking for someone to break out and do it consistently like Tiger did, but perhaps Tiger was just a one of a kind robot that will never be duplicated. His dominance in everything (not just majors) was insane

It's gotta be tough to win on tour and I'm sure there's some weeks where the guys just don't have it or don't care as much, but man DJ definitely laid waste to the field this past weekend.
 
Probably... as to answering the question. The thing is about DJ, I'm not sure its more focus necessarily that has him playing like this. He seems more like the type that just needs to go out and play his game. Physically he is superior to everyone. So his best certainly looks better than anyone else...

Would still love to see a tournament with 3 or 4 of these guys all playing their best, like DJ, JT & Rory plus Rahm or similar... see something like Henrik & Phil at the Open a few years ago but with guys in their physical primes as well.
 
I have a hard time taking anyone else if all things being equal and they are all playing their best week they have. Golf is fun though right now. Feels like we have the most possible winners in any given big Tourney in a long time. There are 20-30 guys that can win regularly in any given week.
 
I think so. Rory's irons aren't as sharp at peak performance. DJ was knocking flags down all weekend, on the toughest holes too!
 
DG_1234 said:
[QUOTE="mikeg_74, post: 9486427, member: 1599 Ignorance is bliss and maybe that's why he so damn cool under pressure because he just doesn't care what others think.
Click to expand...

I don't consider DJ to be especially "cool under pressure" because he has blown a couple of large Sunday round US Open leads. Sensational player for sure, but the reason he has only one Major victory I think is due to to some mental/pressure issues.
[/QUOTE]

I know pros are measured by major championships, and rightfully so, but I still think DJ has that extra gear the others don't. Even when things don't result like they should have, it doesn't bug him like it seems to bother others. That's what I meant by ignorance being bliss.
 
I think when DJ is on, his ability to dominate the field is on par with what Tiger did early in his career. DJ doesn’t have the consistency Tiger did then - you never know which DJ is going to show up.

I’m not sure what he did to gear up for this week, but I hope he can recreate that going forward
 
McLovin said:
that's why I went with brooks. It wasn't until this year's pga that I saw brooks have a poor round when victory was in his grasp. based on him withdrawing, maybe the poor performance was health related more than a poor day with his game.
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I think he came back a little too quick...he'll be back, I have no doubt.

To the topic of the thread...hard to argue that when he's on, DJ is unstoppable. Someone else said it above...and I'd probably agree that if you take the best four when they are "on" you've probably got a foursome of DJ, JT, Rory, and Brooks.

I think we need a bigger sample size of the bigger Bryson....but he's certainly had moments where he's looked ridiculously good as well. Gotta get that wedge game figured out...but a guy that can drive and putt like he's been doing...if he keeps it up, he could push his way into the conversation over the next year or two.
 
mikeg_74 said:
I don't consider DJ to be especially "cool under pressure" because he has blown a couple of large Sunday round US Open leads. Sensational player for sure, but the reason he has only one Major victory I think is due to to some mental/pressure issues.
Click to expand...

I know pros are measured by major championships, and rightfully so, but I still think DJ has that extra gear the others don't. Even when things don't result like they should have, it doesn't bug him like it seems to bother others. That's what I meant by ignorance being bliss.
[/QUOTE]

I liken DJ's career to Billy Casper, who won about 50 Tour events but only three Majors. He won US Open's at ages 30 and 36, and the Masters when he was 39.
If DJ can win 2 or 3 more Majors his career will be in the class of Casper (50 wins 3 Majors) and Mickelson (44 wins , 5 Majors). DJ here today at 22 wins and 1 Major is sensational, but not quite up to what Casper and Mickleson achieved.
 
DG_1234 said:
I liken DJ's career to Billy Casper, who won about 50 Tour events but only three Majors. He won US Open's at ages 30 and 36, and the Masters when he was 39.
If DJ can win 2 or 3 more Majors his career will be in the class of Casper (50 wins 3 Majors) and Mickelson (44 wins , 5 Majors). DJ here today at 22 wins and 1 Major is sensational, but not quite up to what Casper and Mickleson achieved.
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I get that, but not what I am saying. My OP was about DJ's ability to dominate more than anyone else on tour right now, not to measure his achievements against the best and make a case for his career. I am in 100% agreement he needs more majors to get him into the upper echelon of PGA Tour greats.

Right now my point is his ability to dominate when he is on, is not matched by anyone on tour right now.
 
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He's on the short list of players whose best is nigh unbeatable. Problem is, we almost never get to see two or more of those short-list players having an "at their very best" peak during the same tournament. That's when it gets special.

If Rory or Brooks were at their flat-out best on the same week as Dustin, it's hard to predict who'd come out on top. It might end in a 3-way playoff that goes a dozen holes!
 
I'm sure it would depend a little on the course if they were all at their best in which one would come away on top. I think overall though that DJ has the most upside when his game is firing on all cylinders follow closely by Rory.
 
There are a ton of tour players capable of putting it all together for a win on any given week. There are also the top echelon players that are generally in contention week in and week out and can win with a good week. And then there are a rare few that, when clicking on all cylinders, can't be beaten by anyone.

That looks like Johnson when he's playing like he did this past week.
 
Yes, when DJ is on, he's on. His pure talent has always been there, but, as with most, he's unable to replicate his consistency each week. I'm selling him hard going into the next event and making him prove me wrong!

But, could Brooks' best top DJ's best? Possibly. And there are others that have the ability to stay close on a given week.
 
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