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U.S. Open: Tiger, DJ and a decade of champions

By Elizabeth Bethel

Jun 21, 2015; Jordan Spieth (left) with the U.S. Open Championship Trophy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 21, 2015; Jordan Spieth (left) with the U.S. Open Championship Trophy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
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US Open
Dustin Johnson. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports /

2016 Champion – Dustin Johnson

Johnson is an ideal defending champion. He tops the OWGR and the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup rankings and the oddsmakers almost universally tap him as the favorite to win at Erin Hills this year.

Without a doubt, the 32-year old South Carolinian is playing the best golf of his career this year. Three of his 15 PGA TOUR wins have come since the Genesis Open in February 2017.  Five weeks out from Erin Hills, he’s finished outside the top 6 only once since the beginning of the 2016-17 season and missed only one cut.

Johnson’s game is going to make him very hard to defeat. He currently leads the TOUR in driving distance and GIR, so his low driving accuracy – he’s only hitting about 58% of the fairways – isn’t hurting him.  His SG: tee-to-green 2.415 tells the tale and his SG: total, 2.952 lets me know that even with his occasional putting wobbles he’s finding the bottom of the cup with enviable consistency.

Dustin Johnson would be in the 2017 U.S. Open field without his past-champion exemption. Other past champions would not.

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