WGC-HSBC Champions: Power Ranking the top ten at Sheshan

SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 24: (EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN DIGITALLY MANIPULATED) In this handout composite image provided by HSBC, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Dustin Johnson of the United States, Haotong Li of China and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan pose in front of the Pudong skyline during a tournament launch event for the WGC - HSBC Champions at The Peninsula Shanghai on October 24, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Li Wei/HSBC via Getty Images) /

10 of 11

SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 24: Dustin Johnson of the United States poses during a photocall for the WGC – HSBC Champions at The Peninsula Shanghai on October 24, 2017 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images) /

It’s not very often that you think of a player winning four times in one year, and following that up by saying “what could have been”. That’s the case, though, with Dustin Johnson and the 2017 TOUR season.

Still, the only thing missing from DJ’s 2017 record was a major title, and that alone may have been the difference between he and Justin Thomas when it comes to Player of the Year honors. Johnson worked his way back from injury and into the elite, world-class form we had expected late in the year, and he’ll look to carry that form over to Sheshan this week.

In his four career appearances at the WGC-HSBC Champions, Johnson has finished in the top five twice, including a victory in 2013. In that win, he also happened to set the tournament record, torching the course to the blistering tune of a -24 finish.

As usual, DJ will have his biggest advantage in par-5 scoring, where he ranked third on TOUR in scoring average in 2017. Overall, Johnson ranked 12^th in par-breaker percentage (22.86%), and that should carry him right back to the top of the leaderboards this weekend.

Home/Golf Power Rankings