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Dustin Johnson: What he brings to TaylorMade Driving Relief event

By Tim Letcher

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Dustin Johnson plays a shot on the 11th hole during the first round of The PLAYERS at the TPC Stadium course on March 12, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 12: Dustin Johnson plays a shot on the 11th hole during the first round of The PLAYERS at the TPC Stadium course on March 12, 2020 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Dustin Johnson is a past number one ranked player in the world. He brings plenty of game to this weekend’s TaylorMade Driving Relief match.

Dustin Johnson has long been known as someone who could hit the long ball. However, his career turned the corner when his short game came around.

Johnson will join forces with Rory McIlroy to face Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff in Sunday’s TaylorMade Driving Relief skins challenge at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. Johnson and McIlroy appear to be overwhelming favorites, at least on paper.

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Johnson won the only major of his career at the 2016 U.S. Open. That was one of his three impressive wins that season. He also won at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and in the FedEx Cup playoffs at the BMW Championship. Johnson was the PGA Tour Player of the Year for his efforts that season.

He was the world’s number one player for over a year in 2017 and 2018, years in which he had a great deal of success. He won four times in 2017, including two World Golf Championship events and in the playoffs at the Northern Trust.

In 2018, Johnson won three more times, claiming titles at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the FedEx St. Jude Classic and at the RBC Canadian Open.

His 20th career PGA Tour win, a five-stroke victory at the WGC-Mexico Championship in 2019, was an impressive one. His partner on Sunday, McIlroy, was second place, a distant five shots behind Johnson. The win also gave Johnson a career exemption, once he reaches 15 years of playing on tour.

Now, McIlroy will be enjoying the benefits of having Johnson on his side as the two take the course on Sunday. For this pair, overconfidence may be the biggest thing they have to overcome. With five majors and nearly 40 PGA Tour wins between them, Johnson and McIlroy have the clear advantage over Fowler and Wolff, who have combined for six tour wins and no majors.

The biggest thing that Johnson can bring to the match on Sunday is his A-game. If he’s on, while being paired with the best golfer in the world, there is very little chance that this pair will lose.

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If, for some reason, Johnson is not on, it will be up to McIlroy to carry the team, which he is more than capable of doing. For that matter, Johnson could also carry the pair if McIlroy is off his game.

Johnson is still ranked as the fifth best player in the world in the Official World Golf Rankings. And he is looking forward to playing with McIlroy, which should make this pair a lot of fun to watch.

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