Dustin Johnson looks to hold off host of challengers at RBC Heritage

Dustin Johnson is continuing his run of outstanding golf at the RBC Heritage. Can he hold off some high-powered challengers for the victory on Sunday at Harbour Town?

Dustin Johnson sits atop the World Golf Rankings, as he has for 87 weeks in his illustrious career. Last week at this time, his mission to claim his first Masters title fell just short. This week, though, he’s back to his week-to-week business of dominating the majority of the PGA TOUR. And if he can put together one more solid round at the RBC Heritage, he’ll further cement his place as one of the toughest competitors in golf today.

DJ was just one of the beneficiaries of the leaderboard hurricane last Sunday at Augusta National. As Francesco Molinari and company fell apart down the stretch, Johnson shot a four-under round of 68, capped by birdies on three of his last four holes. Although he fell just short of the Tiger Woods destiny machine, it as his sixth top-ten finish in a stroke play event in 2019.

Not counting the WGC Match Play, Johnson has played seven times. So yeah, things are going really well so far.

Johnson’s three-under round of 68 at Harbour Town gave him the 54-hole lead, one shot ahead of Rory Sabbatini, Ian Poulter, and 36-hole leader Shane Lowry. Lowry was cruising through his first nine holes, but he fell apart on the back nine, with three bogeys blowing any cushion he hoped to have. Johnson made a pair of bogeys late, as well, but a six-birdie day made those missteps significantly easier to bear.

While Dustin Johnson is known for his monstrous power off the tee, what has made him such a dominant force over the past several years is the way he has changed his mental approach to the game. No longer just a bomb-and-gouge player, DJ has perfected the art of picking his spots, and plotting his way around every course he plays. That’s what allowed him to draw similarities between Augusta and Harbour Town, two courses that couldn’t look more different at face value.

"“Honestly it doesn’t really change,” Johnson said earlier this week of his prep for the RBC Heritage coming off the Masters. “Last week the course was long. Even the fairways are big. They’re still kind of tight the way they position the bunkers, and the slopes and the fairways, you’re still trying to hit it to a certain spot. It’s actually a good preparation for this week because you’ve got to hit your numbers. These greens are really small. Last week the greens were big, but very small quadrants. There’s a lot of similarities, even though the golf courses may not look anything alike.”"

No surprise, Johnson leads the field at the RBC Heritage in strokes gained off-the-tee, but he’s also ranked third in greens in regulation. On these small putting surfaces, that’s no small task. Then when he’s there, he’s converting scoring opportunities. Ranked fourth for the week (so far) in strokes gained putting, DJ gained almost four strokes on the field on Saturday. In other words, to paraphrase one of the most tired cliches in all of sports, he’s driving for show AND putting for dough. Talk about a dangerous combination.

Make no mistake, there are a host of contenders ready to take advantage of any slip in DJ’s game on Sunday. Lowry, Poulter, and Sabbatini are right there, and so are the likes of Patrick Cantlay, Emiliano Grillo and Matt Kuchar. It’ll be a battle to the finish for sure. But if there’s one thing I’m not ready to do just yet, it’s bet against Dustin Johnson, especially when he’s in the driver’s seat. Don’t be surprised to see him hoisting his 21st PGA TOUR trophy on Sunday night at Hilton Head.