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2021 Open Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Royal St. George’s

By Mike Randleman

CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 19: Detail View of Claret Jug Open signage during the first round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 19, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 19: Detail View of Claret Jug Open signage during the first round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 19, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Jun 20, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Dustin Johnson lines up a putt on the first green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Dustin Johnson lines up a putt on the first green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports /

World Golf Rankings pull results on a rolling two-year basis with weight toward more recent events.

DJ would like to vindicate his top spot in the OWGR with redemption at Royal St. George’s.

He nearly won his first major five years before he ultimately did. Johnson was in the mix at the 2011 Open Championship where he settled for T-2nd.

DJ ended three shots back of champion Darren Clarke. He began Sunday just one shot back of Clarke and still was within two heading to the par-5 14th. An errant long iron on his second shot went out of bounds and led to a tournament-killing double bogey.

It was Johnson’s highest major finish until T-2nd at the U.S. Open then his wins at the 2016 U.S. Open and 2020 Masters.

His major championship career includes 39 made cuts in 48 starts. He has 20 top-10s and six more top-25s. At the Open Championship, the American is 9-for-11 with three top-10s.

This year, DJ missed the cut at the Masters and PGA Championship and earned T-19th at the U.S. Open.

The Coastal Carolina alum comes in off of two weeks of rest since his last start, T-25th at the Travelers Championship. It was his third top-25 in a row after going without one his previous seven starts.

DJ hasn’t looked like himself for 2021, though it appears he’s slowly turning the corner. He always seems to have another gear. At age 37, he’s certainly not out of his prime window.

The former Coastal Carolina Chanticleer ranks 17th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee (.523) as well as total SG (1.329). Johnson’s poor rounds are often still in red figures, as demonstrated by sitting second in scoring average (69.73).

If anyone can tune out the demons from 2011 at Royal St. George’s, it’s DJ. He may have even forgotten it completely.

This was his assessment of the course per an ASAP Sports transcription from 2011: “ You know, I do attack it as much as I can. I try to just steer clear of the bunkers is the main thing, off the tee,” DJ said. “Around the greens you can get up and down out of a bunker, but off the tee if you hit it in the bunker, you’re chipping out every time.”

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