DUSTIN JOHNSON
The World No.1 has been a Masters regular since
2009, and has been playing the Augusta National
course even longer having grown up down the
road in Columbia, South Carolina.
Every year he’s among the favourites to win
based on the incredible power hitting that could
potentially reduce Augusta National to a drive
and pitch layout for him. But every year his form
seemingly dips a little when he heads down
Magnolia Lane.
Last year, it appeared the stars had aligned
for Johnson as he arrived in Augusta with three
victories in the preceding six weeks. But he
infamously fell down a small fl ight of stairs in
his Augusta rental home and had to withdraw
from the tournament just minutes before his fi rst
round tee time.
But, as was the case last year, he is fi nding form
just at the right time. He opened the year with a
victory at the Sentry Tournament of Champions
and, at the time of writing, had two further
top-10 fi nishes including a runner-up placing at
Pebble Beach.
On current form he is certainly one of the
players to watch at Augusta, despite his Masters
record being less than impressive for a player of
his calibre. That said, his past two Masters starts
have yielded top-10 fi nishes.
“This year, I feel like I’m coming in with a pretty
solid game. I feel like every part of my game is
improving. I felt like I’ve got a lot of confi dence
in every part of my game right now, especially
with my wedges,” Johnson said. “I think that’s
something that’s going to help me around Augusta.
WHY HE CAN WIN: Johnson’s big-hitting game
is tailor-made for Augusta, where there is enough
width for him to really attack the course from the
tee and leave short irons into most greens. But,
ultimately, it will be his much-improved wedge
play and short game that will win him a green
jacket, not his driver.MASTERS RECORD
PLAYED: 7
BEST FINISH: T4 (2016)
TOP-10S: 2
SCORING AVERAGE: 72.08
(26 rounds)
BEST SCORE: 67
WORST SCORE: 77golf australia | APRIL 2018 35