Pro Golf Now
Fansided

WGC-HSBC Champions: Top 10 power rankings at Sheshan

By Mike Randleman

SHANGHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 04: A general view of the final leaderboard near the clubhouse and 18th green after the final round of the WGC-HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International Golf Club on November 4, 2013 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA - NOVEMBER 04: A general view of the final leaderboard near the clubhouse and 18th green after the final round of the WGC-HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International Golf Club on November 4, 2013 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 11
Next
SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 24: Dustin Johnson of the United States talks to media in a press conference during a practice round at Sheshan International Golf Club on October 24, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA – OCTOBER 24: Dustin Johnson of the United States talks to media in a press conference during a practice round at Sheshan International Golf Club on October 24, 2018 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /

It’s been a relatively quiet year for Dustin Johnson by his lofty standards, but he’s definitely worth keeping an eye on.

DJ won the 2013 WGC-HSBC Champions (69-63-66-66) by three and set the tournament 72-hole scoring record at 264. He was also co-runner up here in 2017 (68-63-68-77) where he was in a position to win until a tumultuous Sunday.

Sprinkle in a T-5 in 2015 and no finishes worse than T-35 in five starts at Sheshan, and DJ’s got one of the best resumes at this event.

"“It’s a golf course that I enjoy playing. It suits my eye very well. It’s still, though, you’ve got to drive it well,” Johnson said in 2017. “For me, if I drive it good out here, I feel like I can make a lot of birdies. The par 5s, I can reach all the par 5s if I drive it in the fairway. You know, so those are where I’ve got to attack those. The rest of the holes, I feel like if I’m in the fairway, I can attack the golf course.”"

The mitigating factor for riding with DJ is his recent form. He could afford a good showing in one of his final Presidents Cup tuneups after failing to record a top-10 in eight starts dating back to May.

He did have a pair of T-20s in that stretch, including at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude. Johnson also made cuts at the U.S. Open and Open Championship, but we’ve come to expect more out of the future Hall of Famer.

Johnson doesn’t have to look too far in the rearview to find some of his best golf. He won the WGC-Mexico in February and was also a European Tour winner a few weeks prior.

DJ also finished T-5 at the Players Championship and T-2 at the Masters.

The 35-year-old was fourth in strokes gained off the tee last season (.703) and was a solid 38th in SG around the green (.234). This course will virtually be a par-68 for the big man who was 23rd in par-5 scoring (4.54) and 13th in birdie average (4.21).

This is his first start in over two months since the Tour Championship. A rejuvenated DJ could do some damage this week.

Home/Golf Power Rankings