Dustin Johnson sets personal record at WGC-Mexico Championship

Dustin Johnson took the 36-hole lead at the WGC-Mexico Championship, but that wasn’t all; DJ also set a new personal record in yet another white-hot round at Chapultepec.

Dustin Johnson has been on top of the golf world for the better part of two full years now. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but it’s not; DJ first became the world’s No. 1 golfer on February 19, 2017, a title he’s held for 81 of the past 105 weeks. What’s more impressive is that he’s hardly even slipped up at all in that window, an aspect of his game that is clearly serving him well at this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship.

At the halfway mark at Chapultepec Golf Club, Johnson is the proud owner of a two-stroke lead over first-round leader Rory McIlroy and veteran good-guy-turned-Twitter-pariah Matt Kuchar. But as much of a great story as DJ contending at a tournament like this is, what’s more interesting to me is how he’s doing it. He even set a new record along the way.

Dustin Johnson joined the PGA TOUR full-time 11 years ago, making his official debut at the 2008 Tournament of Champions. In that span he’s won an incredible 19 times, producing eye-popping power numbers and (recently, at least) a solid and underrated short game to take home those titles. Of course, one of the side effects that goes with that “bomb and gouge” style is…how to put this nicely?…a lack of consistency on the card. When things are going well, Johnson’s basically unstoppable. When they’re not? Not so much.

Case in point: Johnson has never, in his entire PGA TOUR career, opened a tournament with two bogey-free rounds. Well, not until Friday, that is. Johnson followed up his opening-round 64 with a flawless four-under 67. What the day lacked in drama, it made up for with effectiveness in spades.

While Johnson is still leveraging his power – he averaged over 331 yards off the tee on Friday – he’s actually ranked well outside the top-25 in driving distance this week. However, he’s at or near the top in a host of less visually-stunning (but equally productive) stats. Johnson ranks seventh in strokes gained putting, 15th in driving accuracy, and he leads the field in strokes gained on approach (5.040) and greens in regulation (30 of 36).

In other words, Johnson is playing some precise, strategic golf, and he’s doing it well. And that’s a prospect that should scare the rest of the field heading in to Moving Day.

“I just enjoy playing this kind of golf,” Johnson said of the tight Chapultepec track sitting 7,800 feet above sea level.

“It makes you focus. You’ve got to think. And you’re doing a lot of calculations with the numbers and trying to figure out how far the ball is going to actually go. So, I enjoy it. And, yeah, I like this golf course. It does set up well for me. It’s pretty narrow, but it’s treelined, so I do like that.”

Of course, there’s still two rounds to go in Mexico City, so don’t go engraving Dustin Johnson’s name on the trophy just yet. McIlroy and Kuchar have both been playing outstanding golf recently themselves, and just two shots behind them, Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood don’t appear to be going anywhere soon. And that’s not even mentioning the host of talent sitting just five or six shots back, including a surging Tiger Woods.

Whatever happens, this cerebral, calculating version of DJ looks like he’ll continue to cause problems for the rest of the TOUR, well beyond this week. Don’t miss your chance to see something truly great unfold this weekend.