It is fitting in a week when a fresh PGA Tour computer game was launched that Dustin Johnson played The Northern Trust like he was holding a controller rather than a golf club at TPC Boston. Every number is more outrageous than the one prior to it when you look at Johnsons triumph, however the just one that really matters is that he shot a 30-under 254 over the first four rounds of this seasons playoffs and beat Harris English by 11 (!) strokes.
Johnsons rating was just one off the all-time PGA Tour scoring record of 253 set by Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open, and his margin of triumph was the biggest in a PGA Tour event considering that 2006.
D.J. beat the runner up at this event by 11 strokes. He beat poor Patrick Rodgers, who made the weekend but completed last, by 37 strokes. And all of it might belie just how dominant he was all week.
Johnson popped early on Thursday as he headed out in 30 prior to closing with a 37 on his back nine to what I expect you may call a disappointing 67. He shot the most uninspired 60 in the history of expert golf when he made par at the last seven holes and failed to break into the 50s. The weekend was more of the exact same. A 64 on Saturday basically sealed the deal. Then he headed out in 30 on the front nine on Sunday just for good measure prior to shutting it down with a 33 over the last 18 holes.
Here is a list of things D.J. accomplished this week at TPC Boston.
Led the field in strokes gained on approach shots and from tee to green
Made only 3 bogeys all week
Gotten 23.5 strokes, many by anybody given that the 2016 Open
Became the first player considering that 2006 to win by 11 or more
The second is that we didnt need a 11-stroke Dustin Johnson win in the middle of 2020 to tell us what we already knew: Hes one of the great skills to ever play this sport. D.J. took the 125 best golf players on the finest trip in the world and decimated them all week.
Hell try and achieve generally the only non-major championship feat he has yet to accomplish and win the FedEx Cup and $15 million here in 2 weeks time. If his video game is half as excellent as it was at TPC Boston, thats almost definitely going to take place.
Here are the rest of our grades for The Northern Trust.
Daniel Berger (3rd): Dont look now, Daniel Berger has actually been one of the 5 best players on the PGA Tour because the reboot in early June. Heres a take a look at his surfaces because then: 1st, T3, MC, T2, T13, 3rd. There are just no holes in his video game right now, and when he does struggle in one location statistically, he makes up for it somewhere else. Hes a fun dark horse pick to win the FedEx Cup with a number of bigger names with shorter chances ahead of him entering into the last 8 rounds of the season. Grade: A.
Rickie Fowler (T49): Fowler required a big efficiency this week to proceed to the next FedEx Cup Playoffs occasion, but he didnt get it. Fowler shot 7 under this week, but hit the ball inadequately and was only buoyed by some sharp work around the greens. Normally a staple in the last 30 at East Lake, hell sit out the next 2 weeks as a disappointing season for him comes to a close. Grade: C.
Rory McIlroy (T65): McIlroy may not have done much on the golf course, but he did win the presser on Sunday after his final round. Following an amusing reaction about the difference in between a triple and birdie, he went over why his game and his vibe are a little askew at the minute.
” Yeah, this is going to sound truly bad, but I seem like the last couple of weeks, Ive just been going through the movements,” stated McIlroy. “I wish to get a strength and some sort of fire, however I just have not had the ability to. And look, thats partially to do with the atmosphere and partly to do with how Im playing. Im not motivating myself and Im attempting to get motivation from outside sources to get something going.”.
Its difficult to envision how that switch will be flipped at any point over the next month leading into the U.S. Open, although if someone can find something entering into Olympia Fields next week, Rory remains in the small handful of folks who can do it. Grade: C-.
Phil Mickelson (MC)– For the first time in FedEx Cup Playoffs history, Lefty will not be in the final 70 playing the penultimate occasion trying to make it to the Tour Championship. After a bad 74 in Round 1, his second-round 68 wasnt enough to get him to the weekend and keep his opportunities alive. Mickelson will be teeing it up next week, but it will be at PGA Tour Champions event rather of at Olympia Fields at the BMW Championship. We will likely see him once again either in three weeks at the Safeway Open or four weeks at the U.S. Open, into which he got a late exemption. Grade: F.
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Tied Jordan Spieth for the second-best score-to-par variety of 30 under considering that 1950
Shot 18 under on the front nine on the course (only one other gamer was much better general for the week).
Ended up being the 2nd golfer to win 5 FedEx Cup Playoffs events (Rory McIlroy).
Ended up being the 30th golf enthusiast to win 22 or more times on the PGA Tour.
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There are myriad takeaways from Johnsons dominant proving, however here are the 2 most prominent.
First, this is someone who shot successive rounds of 80-80-78 five weeks back. 3 straight rounds of 78 or higher! And he goes 254 in the very first round of the playoffs ?! Its a testimony to D.J.s greatest weapon, which his capability– for much better or even worse– to not let anything remain in his head.
It is fitting in a week when a fresh PGA Tour video game was launched that Dustin Johnson played The Northern Trust like he was holding a controller rather than a golf club at TPC Boston. D.J. took the 125 best golfers on the best tour in the world and annihilated them all week.” Yeah, this is going to sound actually bad, however I feel like the last couple of weeks, Ive just been going through the movements,” said McIlroy. Mickelson will be teeing it up next week, but it will be at PGA Tour Champions occasion instead of at Olympia Fields at the BMW Championship. We will likely see him once again either in 3 weeks at the Safeway Open or 4 weeks at the U.S. Open, into which he got a late exemption.
