WGC Win by DJ Shows That the Cream Rises to the Top In Elite Events
Dustin has been on a tear since the beginning of last season.
Dustin Johnson won his 4th World Golf Championship yesterday by one shot over Tommy Fleetwood. With this win, D.J. furthers his lead in the Official World Golf Rankings and also moves into second place all time for WGC wins behind only Tiger Woods with 18.
Dustin has been on a tear since the beginning of last season. With 5 wins, including the 2016 US Open, and 19 top tens in his last 28 starts, he finally seems to be matching his physical potential with mental resolve under pressure. Dustin has finally developed into a very complete player, shedding his reputation as a guy who hit it hard (and partied harder) but couldn’t win the big one.
His well-rounded game is helping him close the deal at a higher clip, and his stats reflect this. His rank in strokes gained off the tee has been in the top 5 on tour the last four years. This stat encompasses both distance and accuracy versus the field average. His strokes gained around the green, which encompasses chipping and pitching stats, has steadily increased since 2015 and he is finally better than average in this category. His putting has also improved dramatically, which can also be attributed to his improved proximity to the hole, particularly with his short irons inside 150 yards.
After a 2-year narrative of a new ‘Big Three’ with Jordan Spieth, Rory Mcilroy and Jason Day, D.J. has vaulted himself into the elite group of golfers on tour as he enters his early to mid 30s, which are historically a golfer’s prime years. He was already the most consistent winner on tour, winning at least one tournament every year since 2008. He has 14 wins, including 4 WGC wins and a US Open that pushes him closer and closer to a Hall of Fame career.
While we’re on the subject, we need to consider how historically significant WGC events will be. We know that majors are the end-all-be-all of a player’s career, but how special are World Golf Championships?Founded in 1999, these events were created as an attempt to collect the best golfers from around the world and present them on a global stage. Some critics of the events think that having events with no 36 hole cut and a field of less than 100 people makes these events less competitive than a typical tour event, which have 140+ players and a weekend cut.
Globalization has also been limited because most of the events have taken place in the United States. However, these tournaments have the legitimacy of having high profile winners (paging Eldrick Woods) and larger purses. Furthermore, the widespread acknowledgment of higher importance by players would suggest that these events do mean more.
As it currently stands, I would rank WGC events behind only the Majors and the Players Championship in terms of importance.. WGC’s have a place in the game that is similar to what long standing non-major national championships like the Canadian Open, South African Open, or Australian Open had for the majority of the 20th Century.
Maybe we are too close to these events and don’t have the proper context to accurately analyze their scope in history. Maybe these events are just an elaborate construct to merely make more money for the PGA Tour. Maybe this article was written for the purpose of acknowledging another ridiculous Tiger stats. (He won 16 out of 32 WGC events from 1999 to 2009!)
What we do know is Dustin Johnson is winning them regularly, and we should all be impressed. -30-
Austin is The Ocho’s main golf contributor. He also writes about basketball and guest hosts The Ocho podcast with his brother Riley when Aaron has something better to do. Follow Austin on Twitter at @austevans24, and check out jolo golf on Facebook .
