by The Monday after the Masters is always a little bittersweet, but remember, our next trip to Augusta National is just 143 days away.
Dustin Johnson, Masters champion
Pro golf has been good to Dustin Johnson for the past 13 years, but it has also caused him plenty of heartbreak. Until this week, he had an 0-4 record with 54-hole leads in major championships. In spite of those bad memories, the game’s top-ranked player emphatically shut the door on Sunday at Augusta National. Johnson recovered from bogeys on the difficult 4th and 5th holes to shoot 68, tied for the best round of the day, and good enough for a five-shot victory and a second career major championship. 2020 Masters Results
At his best, Dustin Johnson makes golf tournaments boring, and that was certainly the case on Sunday. Working with caddie and brother Austin, he worked his way around Augusta National methodically, maintaining an absolute chokehold on his chasers. When anyone got within striking distance, DJ made timely birdies. The finish may have felt anticlimactic, but the big man worked for four days to make it so.
We’ve seen this kind of display from Johnson before. He now has 13 professional wins of three shots or more. Even more impressive, he has six victories of five shots or more, five of which have come in the last three seasons. No one in the modern game is as consistent, and very few have what it takes to challenge DJ at his peak. Yet for the past four and a half years, he has been stuck on one major title, which never seemed appropriate for a player with his ability to dominate.
But now Johnson can shake off the “underperformer” label and focus on cementing his legacy. After his win at the Travelers Championship in July, Will Knights wrote an article for the our website that compared him to some of the all-time greats. DJ’s résumé has only improved since then, and he has shown no signs of slowing down.
Blueprint for success
Dustin Johnson didn’t just wake up with incredible talent; he reinvented the way he practiced, and he worked hard. You can do the same with Golf Blueprint! Golf Blueprint offers data- and research-driven improvement plans tailored to your particular game. When you sign up for their membership, you’ll gain access to predictive analytics, comprehensive tools that track your progress, and research on learning theory to improve your knowledge. Think of it as a personal training program, but for your golf game. Regardless of your skill level, Golf Blueprint has a membership option for you. Right now, you can save 15% off the winter membership and see dramatic improvement in your golf game before spring arrives. Visit GolfBlueprint.com today!
Best of the rest
No one was beating Dustin Johnson this week. That said, Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im put up a hell of a fight. Both players started the final round four shots behind Johnson, but they got within one shot of the lead early in the round. In the end, both shot 69 and tied for runner-up, five shots behind the champion.
They may have finished well back of DJ, but both Smith and Im should feel great about what they accomplished this week. Playing alongside Dustin Johnson, 22-year-old Im held his own on the first Masters Sunday of his career. He didn’t have his best stuff tee to green, but his short game was dazzling.
Smith reeled off four front-nine birdies, including unbelievable recovery shots on No. 7 and No. 9, but he stalled out when he made the turn. Still, his T-2 is his second top five in three appearances at the Masters—a promising start to his career at Augusta National, to say the least.
Quick Hooks
Normally poised and bland behind the microphone, Dustin Johnson had trouble collecting himself during his post-round interview with Amanda Balionis. It was a rare moment of emotional vulnerability from the Masters champion, and it showed how much the victory meant to him.
A top-12 finish at the Masters doesn’t just earn you some dough; it also guarantees a return trip the following season. Top-ranked players don’t usually need the exemption, but guys like Dylan Frittelli (T-5), C.T. Pan (T-7), and Corey Conners (T-10) locked down their 2021 berths, regardless of how they perform on the PGA Tour between now and April.
He wasn’t ever in contention, but on Sunday Tiger Woods did something he’d never done at Augusta National, or anywhere on the PGA Tour: he made a 10. The defending champ put three balls in the water on No. 12 en route to a septuple bogey. But since he’s Tiger, he fought back with five birdies on his last six holes to finish -1 for the tournament.
At age 63, Bernhard Langer shot 68-73-73-71 to finish inside the top 30. He beat the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, and Matt Fitzpatrick.
2019 U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree recovered from a rough start on Thursday (+4 through 4) to make the cut and secure low-amateur honors. Rounds of 73-70-71-72 garnered him a T-34 in his first Masters appearance. Ogletree plans to turn pro in the near future. Probably a good call.
Bryson DeChambeau finished 18 shots behind Dustin Johnson, but he did lead the field in driving distance with a 324-yard average. So there’s that.
The Latest from The Fried Egg
Shotgun Start: DJ affirmation, organic matter balls, and Masters surprises & disappointments
A long week of Masters podcasts comes to a close with this recap edition following Dustin Johnson’s five-shot victory. The first big question Andy and Brendan ask is whether DJ will remember this or his FedExCup in September more from his remarkable year. Then they get to the more serious, discussing his legacy as perhaps the greatest player of the post-Tiger generation. In conjunction with his process over results essay from earlier in the week, Brendan celebrates the experience of watching DJ play golf for the last decade-plus and the affirmation that a jacket, while not required, brings to that experience. They chat about the Rory tease, the JT disappointment, the sneaky Brooks week, and Bryson getting put in a bodybag by Bernhard. Citing all those names also leads to a debate over who will finish with the most majors, and whether DJ will have a second green jacket here in six months. Dylan Frittelli’s geography expertise is also highlighted. A tweet from Alan Shipnuck on the “wear and tear” conditioning at Augusta showing this week prompts a closing segment on how the course played and what Andy will remember most from this 2020 edition. Thanks to all for a fun week and for supporting the daily podcast format! Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.
Pro Shop
There weren’t any patrons following Dustin Johnson on Thursday, but fiancée Paulina Gretzky was there to cheer him on to victory. Paulina didn’t have any poms with her on Sunday, but you can if you grab a Fried Egg Beanie! Get yours today!
