The race for Player of The Year honours is hotting up after Dustin Johnson’s victory at the Northern Trust.
In the early stages of the 2016/17 PGA Tour season, three players separated themselves from the peleton, namely Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson who had all claimed three wins apiece by the first week of March.
What made Johnson’s victories so noteworthy though was the fact that he won three consecutive events including a pair of World Golf Championship titles.
The general consesnsus was that Player of The Year honours were all but assured if Johnson added to his lone major title with another victory in 2017.
On the eve of the Masters, a tournament Johnson was the clear favourite to win, his season suffered an unfortunate setback. A back injury sustained after falling down stairs in his rental home denied him the chance to add the green jacket to his wardrobe.
After making his return in May at the Wells Fargo Championsip where he finished T-2, Johnson appeared to be picking up where he left off and again was considered a good pick to defend his US Open crown. A four-over 36-hole total, however, derailed the defending champion’s bid as he missed the cut.
Amid Johnson’s struggles, Jordan Spieth was rounding into some fine form at exactly the right time. After a disappointing T-35 showing at the US Open, Spieth walked away with the trophy at the Travelers Championship courtesy of a holed bunker shot at the first playoff hole against Daniel Berger.
Spieth continued his good form by taking a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar into the final round of the Open Championship. The Texan leaked oil early on Sunday, watching his lead disappear after three dropped shots in his opening four holes.
Fans and commentators alike began to murmur about the 23-year-old showing signs of scar tissue sustained after blowing a five-shot lead over the final nine holes of the 2016 Masters.
Though he left it late, Spieth answered his critics in sensational fashion by going on a tear down the stretch, showing huge amounts of character in the process. An improbable bogey at the 13th was followed by a tap-in birdie, an eagle and a final birdie on the penultimate hole en-route to a three-shot triumph and a third major title.
The win also saw Spieth join Jack Nicklaus as the only other player to win three different major titles by the age of 24.
Attention quickly turned to whether Spieth could claim the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow and with it the career Grand Slam. It wasn’t to be though as he failed to make inroads for much of the tournament, finishing T-28 at two-over par.
Rather, it was Spieth’s childhood friend Thomas who took home the Wanamaker Trophy and with it his first major title. The manner in which Thomas closed out the victory showed maturity beyond his 24 years. A terrific sand save on the 16th hole was followed by a laser-like 7-iron on the 17th hole to set up a birdie two and a two-stroke victory.
Many believed that Johnon’s failure to capitalise on his fast start to the season by not winning a major would ultimately count against him when the Player of The Year is announced shortly after the Tour Championship.
Before the Northern Trust, I tended to agree with this sentiment. Johnson’s terrific come-from-behind victory over Spieth, however leaves me genuinely uncertain about who will triumph. Credit must go to Johnson for his clutch Sunday performance. Three adrift of Spieth heading into the final round, Johnson remained in striking distance for the entire day. Standing on the 72nd hole, the World No 1 was faced with a downhill 17-footer to force a playoff with his playing partner. Johnson duly drained the putt to take the tournament to extra holes.
On the first hole of sudden-death, Johnson showed no signs of nerves as he crushed a 341-yard bomb before holing a three-foot birdie putt which Spieth couldn’t match.
With the win, Johnson has taken his victory tally to four. Given the fact that Thomas has matched this figure and won a major in the process, Johnson may come to rue the April back injury.
One also shouldn’t discount Spieth who, with three wins this year including the Open Championship is not out of the running either.
With only two events of the season remaining, it’s anyone’s for the taking.
Photo: Golf Channel
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