2022 WGC-Dell Match Play: ‘Lift Off’ for Dustin Johnson on Day One

The 2017 WGC-Dell Match Play winner was locked up in a hotly contested match with Mackenzie Hughes on Wednesday until producing an incredible finish of three consecutive birdies to take the match on day one in Austin.

Dustin Johnson, who fell outside of the top ten in the Official World Golf Rankings earlier this week, has had a slow start to 2022. He hasn’t won an event on U.S. soil since the 2020 Masters’, but he has shown signs in recent weeks of finally getting back to his best.

The 2020 Masters’ winner took some time off following a missed cut at the Genesis Invitational in February in what was his first missed cut at Riviera in nearly a decade. Johnson returned to action at the Players Championship a couple of weeks ago and really looked reinvigorated as he not only made the cut in extremely challenging and bizarre conditions but also tied the course record on Sunday when he shot up the leaderboard after an incredible 63.

Dustin Johnson has failed to advance past the group phase at the WGC-Dell Match Play in recent years

Dustin Johnson has had mixed results at the WGC-Dell Match Play since 2016 when he made it through to the Quarterfinals. He would go on to win the event in 2017 before failing to advance from the group stage in his next three starts at Austin Country Club.

Things are looking up for Dustin Johnson this year, at least after day one. Dustin Johnson began his 2022 WGC-Dell Match Play with two consecutive pars and the consistent play was good enough to hand him a 2UP advantage over a tricky opponent in Mackenzie Hughes. The Canadian is not someone you would enjoy facing under the match play format as he has a terrific short game, and when he gets hot with the putter can pose a real threat to anyone.

The 31-year-old Hughes won two of his three group matches at the WGC-Dell Match Play last year defeating the likes of Paul Casey, and Webb Simpson, on his way to the last 16. He would go on to lose a competitive match with Sergio Garcia in the knockout round.

Although it might be a surprise to some, Mackenzie Hughes could be expected to provide a stern test for Dustin Johnson. That is exactly what happened as he fought his way back into the match on Wednesday, and even held the lead at one point near the end of the front nine. Hughes was able to keep applying pressure on DJ until they reached the 14th hole, it was at this point that Dustin took full control of the match.

Dustin Johnson went on to birdie his next three holes for a 3&2 win over Mackenzie Hughes. As if adding an exclamation mark to an impressive finish Johnson crushed his drive on what would be the last hole of the match, the Par 5, 16th. The tee-shot went an extraordinary 420 yards down the middle of the fairway.

“Felt like I rolled it all right. I felt like I struck the ball pretty well, just gave myself some chances”, Johnson said when asked about his performance on Wednesday at the WGC-Dell Match Play.

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The key for Dustin Johnson was that he gave himself ‘some chances’ at the perfect time. It was a clinical finish from Dustin to close out the match and if he can produce more of the same over the next few days he will be a real threat to win his second WGC-Dell Match Play title in Austin this week.