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The Masters: Top 10 power rankings at Augusta National

By Mike Randleman

AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 08: A general view of the leaderboard is seen near the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, GA - APRIL 08: A general view of the leaderboard is seen near the 18th green during the final round of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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AUGUSTA, GA – APRIL 02: Dustin Johnson of the United States plays his shot from the fourth tee during a practice round prior to the start of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 2, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, GA – APRIL 02: Dustin Johnson of the United States plays his shot from the fourth tee during a practice round prior to the start of the 2018 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 2, 2018 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /

Like with most players, it took DJ some time to get comfortable around Augusta. It seems like he’s got a good grip now.

Johnson finished T10 (73-68-71-69) in 2018 and has placed top 10 three straight times.

Earlier in his career he didn’t have the short game chops to play well enough to get in the mix (though he still was top-40 his first three starts), but he’s turned it around.

His strokes gained around the green rank has gone from 160th starting in 2014-15 to 75th, 58th, 33rd and now 29th.

Based on comments from 2018, though, Johnson will still be parked at ANGC’s short game area for extended periods.

"“I mean, probably spend a little bit more time chipping and putting and stuff from off the greens around here than probably‑‑ than most weeks at normal tournaments,” Johnson said last year. “That’s probably about it. As far as throughout my bag with shots, I don’t really‑‑ don’t change anything or try to do anything different because I’m at Augusta. Just spend a lot more time around the greens chipping and putting.”"

This season’s ranks have him second overall on the PGA Tour in overall strokes gained and top-30 in all categories. He’s 199th in driving accuracy, but it doesn’t matter when you can hit it as far as DJ and limit the misses to recoverable spots.

Johnson could get to know Augusta’s pine straw quite well, but he has the shotmaking to work around it.

He’s a winner in 2019 at the European Tour’s Saudi International and strolled to victory at the WGC-Mexico. Johnson didn’t make it out of his group in his last tune-up at the WGC-Match Play, but he was T5 at the Players and T6 at the Valspar in his last two stroke play events.

The guy never misses cuts, either. Johnson has made nine in a row worldwide and five of the last six in majors. Four of the five in majors are top 30.

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