Goodness knows, Dustin Johnson has kicked away his share of big tournaments and the beneficiaries couldn’t be happier. But sooner rather than later, someone was bound to lay one in Johnson’s lap and he can thank Jason Day in large part for his victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Yes, Johnson shot the lowest score at Firestone Country Club but even with a bogey on the final hole, he was in no danger, especially after Day botched the 15th and 16th when he had the lead coming down the stretch.
If it’s retribution or just what goes around comes around, Johnson deserves his share of good fortune in exchange for the bad-luck deposits he’s made at previous major championships.
Johnson is now No. 2 in the world behind Day, just fractions of a point ahead of Jordan Spieth, and who would have predicted that just a few weeks ago? For all the talk of golf’s Big Three, we now need to expand that by one, unless Rory McIlroy falls out of the triumvirate.
McIlroy was expected to make a run at the 100th Open de France on Sunday, especially situated one shot out of the lead when Sunday began. Given the choice between McIlroy and Thongchai Jaidee as the winner in Paris, no one would have given the 46-year-old Thai a snowball’s chance.
But McIlroy was merely a bit player in Jaidee’s victory, declaring his game “fragile” heading into the Open Championship. If McIlroy expects to get back into the conversation about the world’s best three or four or however many players, now is the time.
First – like everyone else – he must get past Johnson.
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