FedEx Cup Power Rankings: Top ten at The Northern Trust
If you’re sitting here asking yourself when Dustin Johnson’s slump is over, I’ve got good news for you. It already is. Better yet, it has been for at least a month.
I know – DJ hasn’t won anything since the WGC-Dell Match Play back in March. That was five months and a freak back injury at Augusta ago. Yes, he had a down stretch in June, missing back-to-back cuts at the Memorial Tournament and U.S. Open. That one hurt, for sure.
But what you’d be forgetting is that, outside of basically three tournaments (four, if you count missing the Masters), DJ has still be insanely competitive. We hold him to a standard few reach, and he deserves it. But, since none of us know how truly healthy he is or isn’t, perhaps we should have tempered our expectations just slightly.
Entering the Playoffs, my concern level has gone way down for Johnson. I’m sure his back still hurts from time to time, but he’s clearly healing. If he’s capable of it, the time is now for Johnson to turn it back on and cement his place in the top five at East Lake.
Ranked 14th in greens-in-regulation, 18th in proximity and ninth in adjusted scoring, it’s obvious that Johnson knows how to compete regardless of his power advantage. He’ll carry that over at Glen Oaks, and when the short irons and putter are on, he’ll be tough to stop.