Still, if disappointment can come with the territory for DJ, so do weeks like these—when he makes this most difficult game look astonishingly easy and steamrolls a field of the world’s best players.

Johnson capped off one of the better tournaments in golf history on Sunday, running away with The Northern Trust. In the first FedEx Cup Playoff event of 2020, the 36-year-old shot a final-round 63 to finish a jaw-dropping 30 under par. A special note of condolence to runner-up Harris English, who went 19 under for the week and finished 11 shots back. DJ’s triumph came with the largest margin of victory on tour since Phil Mickelson won by 13 at the 2006 BellSouth Classic.

RELATED: Nobody runs away like DJ and four other Northern Trust takeaways

“Obviously this was a really good week. My ball-striking was unbelievable,” he said. The numbers back it up. Johnson picked up a staggering 18.14 shots on the field tee-to-green over 72 holes at TPC Boston, and hit 65 of 72 greens, including all 18 on Sunday.

“I found something on Wednesday,” Johnson said. “Felt like I was swinging really good but something clicked on Wednesday. I really, really hit it well on Thursday. I didn’t make a lot of putts, but I really went and worked hard on my putting on Thursday afternoon, and it paid off.”

By Sunday, only Mother Nature could stall Johnson’s march—a malicious storm raced through the area, halting play for roughly an hour before Johnson and English returned to finish their last two holes. When Johnson returned to the course, he birdied the 18th to become the first player in tour history to shoot 30 under par in a 72-hole stroke-play event at a venue other than Kapalua (a par 73 layout with five par 5s). Johnson finished one shot short of both the tour’s 72-hole scoring record and the record in relation to par. Didn’t bother him a smidge, though. He had “no idea” what either record was.

Justin Thomas, who finished 23 shots back at seven under, took to Twitter to summarise the feelings of the other 124 golfers who teed it up this week with this question: “What course did you just play???”

Harry Higgs, who finished tied for 11th at 15 under, saw the humour in it. “He’s doubled my score. … My goal today was to go out and try to win the B Flight, because the A Flight was taken care of. It’s unbelievable.”

Maddie Meyer
Aided by his brother/caddie, Austin, DJ has become a more reliable putter in recent years.

Johnson’s victory—the 22nd career of his PGA Tour career—moves him back to No. 1 in the World Rankings. If you saw him play this week, that feels like something of a no-brainer. Only it’s not. He’s now the fifth man to hold that spot in 2020, the most in a single calendar yar since the ranking began in 1986. It’s also the sixth time in his career that Johnson has taken over the top spot. It’s part of what makes him something of an enigma in golf circles.

When Johnson’s engaged, there is no one better in the sport. The guy was 11 under par through 11 holes on during his second round on Friday, by his own admission the best golf of his life. And yet when he stepped to the reachable par-5 18th, the easiest hole on the course, needing just a birdie to shoot 59, he promptly pulled driver for no apparent reason, hit a good one and watched as it bounded through the fairway into fescue.

When he parred the last hole to shoot “only” 60, everyone not named Dustin Johnson was legitimately disappointed. Dustin Johnson simply does not get disappointed very often, and certainly not after a round that saw him take a two-shot lead. He stretched that advantage to five after Saturday with a birdie-eagle finish for a 64-. On Sunday, the outcome was never in doubt after he made eagle on 2, his fifth of the week, which ties the tour record for a 72-hole stroke-play event.

“I felt good every day, obviously, and played good golf. But I was doing the same things, going to the range, all the time, hitting the same shots, and I just felt like I was really controlling the golf ball very well.”

This is Johnson’s fifth win of at least five shots since the beginning of 2017. That’s Tiger territory. But Tiger paired his top-gear brilliance with ruthless consistency. With Johnson, you never know what exactly you’re in for.

After finishing second at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage, Johnson had just two top-10 finishes in his next 14 PGA Tour starts. He seemed to fade from relevance, from the best-in-the-world conversation, until he popped up out of nowhere to win the Travelers Championship in June. In his very next competitive round, at the Memorial, he shot 80. Then he did it again. Then he headed to Minnesota for the 3M Open, shot 78 and withdrew with a bad back. Yup—the guy who shot 30 under par at TPC Boston played a three-round stretch in 23 over par less than six weeks ago.

Thus, he was something of an afterthought heading into this year’s PGA Championship, but shot 65 on Saturday at TPC Harding Park to carry a two-shot lead into the final round. That’s when his former buddy—or, at bare minimum, one-time workout partner—took a thinly veiled shot at him. You remember it. Something about only one major.

The ultimate response to that comment would have been winning that second major. It wasn’t to be—a precocious Collin Morikawa made sure of that—but Johnson did not show the slightest bit of disappointment. Because in his mind, there was no controversy to respond to. It may be physically impossible to upset this man.

“It doesn’t matter,” Johnson said when asked earlier this week about Brooks’ jab. “It doesn’t bother me. He can think what he wants.”

Koepka withdrew from The Northern Trust before it began, ending his 2019-’20 PGA Tour season. Johnson then turned the tournament it into a personal talent show. He made a 7,300-yard, par-71 layout look like a toothless pitch-and-putt. The ball-striking was equal parts automatic and rhythmic. Automatic, because he hit power fade after power fade down the centre of the fairway, then hit virtually every approach pin high.

Rhythmic, because Johnson plays refreshingly fast even as most of his peers seem keen on going the other way. That is, until he gets to the green, where Johnson’s cadence changes entirely. He brings in his caddie/brother, Austin, who does his aimpoint express to help find the line. Johnson walks around all sides of the hole, looking at the putt from every angle, before pulling the putter back. That putter this week, coincidentally, was the same TaylorMade Spider Itsy Bitsy model that he used to reach World No. 1 for the first time back in February 2017. Since then, it’s been a revolving door. He used three different flatsticks in three weeks before finally returning to the Spider just before the PGA. In San Francisco, Austin joked that he would break every other putter Dustin has to leave him no choice but to stick with Ol’ Faithful.

“Sometimes, you just need—the [putter] you’re using, you just need to put it in time-out for a minute or two, and then it starts working again.”

Will Johnson heed his brother’s advice? Who knows. Will he finally win a second major? Sure, although time is marching on. Will he fade from relevance again with a inexplicably barren stretch of play? Could happen, too. Will he make more puzzling decisions, like that driver on 18 on Friday? Have to think so.

Will he win a bunch more golf tournaments, periodically reminding the world of his generational talent? That’s for sure.

The post When Dustin Johnson is at his best, it looks better than the rest appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Shane Ryan
You’ve heard the statistic a half-dozen times by now, from the CBS broadcast to our own posts: With his win last weekend at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, Justin Thomas became the third-youngest player to win 13 times on the PGA Tour, edging out Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson and behind only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. That, really, should say it all: He’s the heir to the all-time greats, the current World No. 1 and someone who is very likely to finish his career as the shining star of a generation.

So why don’t we—and I’m using the collective “we” here to paint with admittedly broad strokes—believe it?

First, let’s be generous and acknowledge that majors play a big role in our reluctance. Thomas has “only” one, the 2017 PGA Championship, while some of his peers have won more. Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka each have four. They’re in their 30s now, older than the 27-year-old Thomas, but Jordan Spieth has three majors, and he’s a few months younger than Thomas. Plus, all of them have been No. 1 longer than Thomas, who spent just four weeks in his previous stint in the top spot.

That’s all fair, insofar as judging by those metrics is fair. (You could argue that winning majors is luck-based in a way that makes it a poor comparison tool, but that’s a fight you’re never going to win.) I’ll go one step further, however, and argue that there’s something in his persona, something almost pedestrian, that devalues him in our minds. Seemingly, there’s some kind of unconscious bias based on his body language, or his facial expressions, or the way he seems to drift rather than march down a fairway. Rory and Tiger share an abundance of ferocity in the heat of battle, Koepka has a steely swagger, Jon Rahm is angry, Phil appears perpetually on the edge of a manic episode, and Jordan Spieth—back when he was Jordan Spieth—had a neurotic, all-encompassing focus.

What does Thomas have? Nothing definitive, really—he’s mostly just casual. Which is heroic, but also not very memorable. The natural serenity undoubtedly serves him well, but from an outside perspective, he seems to flow underneath the big moment, rather than rising to meet it with an emotion that matches the stakes. There’s the famous story that Joe Montana, just before leading the San Francisco 49ers to a game-winning drive in Super Bowl XXIII against the Cincinnati Bengals, stunned his teammates when he interrupted the huddle, pointed into the stands, and said, “Hey, isn’t that John Candy?” You can absolutely see Thomas having that kind of thought as he ambles down the fairway in the cauldron of impossible Sunday pressure. It’s the same energy.

Which isn’t to say Thomas can’t get pumped up—he most definitely does. Last December, after holding a match-winning putt at the Presidents Cup, he screamed out “I love me some me!” When he buried a massive putt at the Workday Charity Open a few weeks ago, and had every right to believe he had just won the tournament, he allowed himself a loud “ahhh!” that stood out on the empty course. It’s just that his baseline demeanour offers something more subtle, more muted, which makes his greatness just slightly harder to understand.

I’ve succumbed to this. At the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, I approached him after a press conference to tell him that he had just tied Lanny Wadkins and Sam Snead as the fastest American to reach 10 points in international team competitions—he needed just 13 matches to do it—and his presence is notable for its even quality. He cuts a slight shape, smaller and thinner than he looks on TV, and his vibe is decidedly low-key. When I conveyed that bit of trivia about Wadkins and Snead, he gave himself a moment to digest the information, raised his eyebrows just a little, and nodded in mild appreciation, as if I’d just told him that Australia was home to 900 bird species. Nothing about him, then or later, screamed “greatness” to me.

Thomas’ emotions do come out on the course on occasion, as witnessed last December when playing with Tiger Woods at the Presidents Cup. But his mostly stoic demeanour impacts fans’ perception of his greatness. (Daniel Pockett)

The net effect of this is that he doesn’t quite get the credit he deserves when he wins, and seems stands in a harsher spotlight when he loses. After his victory in Memphis, there was a lot of focus on the very lucky shot that skipped across a bridge and through a clump of trees on the 15th hole to stave off disaster. At the Workday, he was taken to account for blowing a three-shot lead with three holes remaining en route to his playoff loss to Collin Morikawa. Even in his other 2020 win, at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, he made a mess of the 72nd hole and had to defeat Patrick Reed in extra holes.

To that, let’s just say that victories in most golf tournaments come with no small amount of luck and sloppiness. When Rory McIlroy won his fourth major at Valhalla in 2014, the greatest shot of his round—the long fade to set up an eagle putt at No. 10—was an accident, and if it had gone OB left as he assumed it would off the club, he wouldn’t have won. When Koepka won the PGA last year at Bethpage, he did so despite a disastrous five-over stretch in the last eight holes, and only Dustin Johnson’s inability to seize the initiative saved Koepka from what would be looked at today as a clear choke. Instead, he’s a four-time major winner trying to win a third straight Wanamaker Trophy at Harding Park.

The point is, we don’t analyze those results with the same rigour, and it’s because guys like McIlroy and Koepka look tougher; more like the warriors we think they need to be.

And yet, who’s really tough? Last fall, Golf Digest’s Brian Wacker put forth the case that Thomas is actually the best closer in golf. At the time, Thomas was 8-for-11 in closing out tournaments when leading or tied after 54 holes. That number is 8-for-13 now after losing the WGC-Mexico in February and the Workday, but he’s added two come-from-behind wins since. As Wacker noted, those numbers compare favourably with McIlroy and Spieth, and Thomas has won more (and more consistently) than both players—and Koepka—in the past five years.

Thomas says he’s better prepared to hold on to his World No. 1 spot this time than when he first held it in 2018. (Sam Greenwood)

We can’t forget international competition, either. Thomas was heroic in Melbourne, saving his team’s bacon over the first four days and keeping the Americans close enough to pull off the Sunday comeback. Without his 3½ points in his first four matches, Team USA was dead. And it’s also worth noting that Tiger valued him so highly that he chose him as partner for his pairs matches—when he wanted a win, he knew the man to pick. The Paris Ryder Cup is instructive, too. In the midst of that disaster, Thomas won four of his five matches and took down Rory McIlroy in singles while most of his teammates floundered. Thomas’ career in international team events is still young, but his current 10-3-2 record is nothing short of spectacular, and he’s already seized the Captain America title from Reed. (The fact that he happens to be a good teammate doesn’t hurt.)

There’s irony in this thesis, that the very qualities which make Thomas one of the best, grittiest golfers in the sport are also the ones that make us slow to recognize it. But ignorance can’t reign forever, and if Thomas maintains his trajectory and adds to his major totals, the truth will become too clear to miss. If you’re looking for the next big thing, he’s right there, hiding in plain sight at the top of the list.

The post Even at World No.1, Justin Thomas is underappreciated appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Jon Rahm reached the No. 1 spot on the world ranking with a performance worthy of the game’s best player, a few hiccups down the stretch notwithstanding.

At a crusty firm Murifield Village G.C., Rahm won The Memorial by performing well in virtually every aspect of the game. Rahm ranked fourth in strokes gained/off-the-tee; fourth in strokes gained/approach-the-green; first in strokes gained/around-the-green and first in strokes gained/tee-to-green. He was fourth in driving accuracy, third in scrambling (including a very timely hole out on the 16th) and third in greens in regulation. And while he was 28th in strokes gained/putting, he picked up more than two strokes on the field on the greens as well. No. 1 indeed.

While Rahm had three of TaylorMade’s new SIM woods in the bag (driver and a pair of fairway woods), it was his work with his trusty TaylorMade P750 irons that stood out. Rahm has used the irons for several years and recently weakened the lofts on them after the COVID-19-related break because he was hitting his irons further and wanted to better control the trajectory and angle of descent.

In 2018 Rahm told Golf Digest what appeals to him about his P750s.

“It’s the forgiveness. I played musclebacks most of my career because I thought it was cool,” he said. “But when I tried these irons it was just a lot easier, a lot more comfortable when you’re in the fairway. You know that even if you don’t hit it perfect it’s still pretty much going to carry the same distance.” Even the best player in the world can use a little extra forgiveness.

Earlier in the year Rahm made a ball change as well, switching from TaylorMade’s TP5x into the TP5 for more spin and control with his wedges.

Such tweaks have aided Rahm in his quest to be No. 1, something he was keenly aware of heading into Sunday’s final round.

“A few months ago in Dubai I got the opportunity to make some Spanish history, and it would be doing it again to become No. 1 after Seve [Balleseteros],” Rahm said after the third round. “It’s obviously a big deal. I can’t sit here and try to diminish it and avoid it because it would just be lying to myself because it is a big deal. But it is a consequence of me winning tomorrow. What’s important to me tomorrow is hit good shots, be committed and get the job done. Everything else will be taken care of afterwards.”

Job well done.

What Jon Rahm had in the bag at The Memorial:

Ball: TaylorMade TP5
Driver: TaylorMade SIM (Aldila Tour X), 10.5 degrees
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM, 15 degrees
5-wood: TaylorMade SIM, 18 degrees
Irons (4-PW): TaylorMade P750
Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind Hi-Toe (52 degrees); TaylorMade MG2 (56, 60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Chalk

The post Jon Rahm’s winner’s bag at the Memorial appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
DUBLIN, Ohio — Becoming the No. 1 golfer in the world is a bit like winning the lottery. There’s no bad way to do it.

Still, some ways are better than others. Back in 2018, Justin Rose lost in a playoff and became world No. 1 the next day. That was nice, because he played his way into the spot. In February, Rory McIlroy became No. 1 after an off week. He didn’t even hit a shot. That was, by his own admission, anti-climatic.

Winning the Memorial, Jack Nickalus’ tournament, against the strongest non-major field ever assembled? Now that would be a pretty sweet way to take the top spot.

Jon Rahm can do exactly that on Sunday at Muirfield Village. His third-round 68 amid U.S. Open-like conditions, which included four straight birdies on the back nine, was good enough for a four-shot lead over Tony Finau and Ryan Palmer with 18 holes to go. He is six shots clear of Danny Willet in third. Should Rahm close the deal and pick up his fourth PGA Tour victory—or even finish solo second while current No 1 Rory McIlroy places worse than solo 30th—he’d become the 24th man in history and just the second Spaniard, following his hero, Seve Ballesteros, to become world No. 1

“Oh, it’s extremely important,” Rahm said of his opportunity. “No. 1 in the world, a few months ago in Dubai I got the opportunity to make some Spanish history … to become No. 1 after Seve.”

“It’s obviously a big deal. I can’t sit here and try to diminish it and avoid it because it would just be lying to myself because it is a big deal. But it is a consequence of me winning tomorrow.”

And, later: “It’s something that deep in my core as a Spaniard and as a player I would love to achieve.”

What a remarkable achievement that would be for a guy who has only been a professional golfer for just over four years. But Rahm was always destined for greatness. He was the No. 1 amateur in the world for 60 weeks, more than any other player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking history. McIlroy said earlier this year that the folks at TaylorMade felt they had signed a top-10 player in the world when they inked Rahm to a deal out of college. In his first event as a professional, the 2016 Quicken Loans National, he held a share of the lead after 18 and 36 holes and finished tied for third.

For Rahm, becoming world No. 1 has always seemed like a matter of when, not if. There are no holes in his game. He’s long and straight off the tee, armed with a penetrating cut that he can trust. He plays the game with a fearlessness that stops just short of arrogance, as all the greats in this game seem to do. To dip into the cliché bucket, he has a Spaniard’s short game, frequently hitting shots like he did on the 15th on Saturday—a one-hop spinner, short-sided, out of the rough, to three feet. And he wants it. Boy, does he want it. Sometimes, even a little too much. He’s spoken many times about trying to channel his fire constructively, to prevent his outbursts from derailing his round and using the passion as a positive.

“There’s definitely been moments out there this week where I could have just lost it, or maybe in past I would have gotten more frustrated and changed my game plan,” Rahm said. “Maybe a couple years ago I don’t think I would be here with a four-shot lead right now going into tomorrow. It’s a slow process.

“Unfortunately I’m a person who learns from mistakes, like most of us I would say, and luckily I’ve been able to, and hopefully I can keep doing it tomorrow and just follow the same mindset I’ve had the last few days.”

James Squire
Jon Rahm celebrates his strong third round of the Memorial with his caddie.

Jon Rahm is using lessons he learned last week at Muirfield

He’s going to need that newfound patience, that discipline quite a bit on Sunday. Muirfield Village has flashed its teeth all week. By Saturday afternoon, it was a bear. The greens, which are being ripped up on Monday for a renovation, are as firm as you’ll see on the PGA Tour. The rough is juicy and the fairways are firm. Some four-shot leads are bigger than others. And when the course is playing this like this …

“I don’t think it’s that big of an advantage,” Rahm said. “Four shots on a windy, difficult, firm golf course is nothing. It’s me making two bogeys and someone making one birdie and then suddenly it’s a one-shot lead.”

Jason Day, who is a member here, was asked if he’s seen this course play like this before.

“No, no,” he said. “Usually there’s a little bit of—usually we have storms when it comes to Memorial. We’re a little bit later in the year, so maybe that’s had something to do with the storms not coming. I mean, we did have a quick shower on Thursday, but overall, I think the conditions are really tough out there.

“Some of the holes you’re hoping that you have a decent lie in the rough where you can kind of get it somewhere around the green so you can get yourself up-and-down. No. 16 today was just unbelievable, and it’s not so much the actual shot itself as when you got up around that hole, the grain is just absolutely dead. You know that it’s quick when your putter starts slipping when you’re going down. It’s going to be—if we have the same conditions tomorrow, it’s probably going to be carnage out there tomorrow.”

Carnage is possible. Likely, even. But so is a coronation.

The post After impressive third round, world’s top spot within Jon Rahm’s reach appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
Even with a history of painful near-misses, when Dustin Johnson gives himself a chance to win through 54 holes, he’s proved to be a good guy to bet on. Sunday at the RBC Canadian Open, Johnson grabbed hold of the solo lead right from the start and never let go, calmly strutting his way to a 19th career PGA Tour victory and joining some elite company in the process.

The win comes off a rough stretch by Johnson’s standards in his last two starts, one being a solo third that featured a tough weekend at Shinnecock Hills during the U.S. Open, and the other being his first missed cut in over a year at the Open Championship at Carnoustie. But as Johnson has often proved in the last three years, anytime you question where his game is at he usually responds in impressive fashion.

That’s what he did on Sunday at Glen Abbey Golf Club outside of Toronto, carding a final-round 66 to win by a comfortable three strokes over Whee Kim and Byeong Hun An, who each carded three-under 69s that weren’t enough to keep pace with the World No. 1.

Related: The clubs Dustin Johnson used to win at Glen Abbey

“It means a lot, it’s the last time the RBC is going to be here at Glen Abbey,” said Johnson, who overpowered the Jack Nicklaus-design all week, leading the field in strokes-gained/off-the-tee. “It’s a golf course I really like, I play well at it. So, it definitely means a lot to win here, got a lot of fans out here thanks to Wayne [Gretzky] and the family. It was a great week.”

As Johnson cruised down the back nine, it was easy to see why he loves the course so much. His towering drives made Glen Abbey’s three back-nine par 5s play like par 4s, with Johnson needing only short irons to reach the green on his second shots. The most impressive display came at the par-5 16th, where Johnson missed the fairway with his tee shot, leaving him a difficult 180 yard approach on a downslope, out of the rough to a back left pin. For Johnson, it was a pitching wedge that landed on the green and just rolled off the back, leading to one of his seven birdies on Sunday.

Even a weather delay that stopped play for roughly 90 minutes couldn’t derail Johnson.

The victory makes him the first player since Tiger Woods to win three or more events in three consecutive years, Woods accomplishing the feat in 2009. It also puts him in a tie for 38th on the all-time tour win list, joining Hall-of-Famers Ben Crenshaw, Ernie Els, Doug Ford, Hubert Green and Tom Kite.

“It takes a lot of work,” Johnson said. “A lot of support, I got a great family and get a lot of support from them. They’re a great team to help me get to where I’m at.”

For Kim and An it was still a good week, each of them matching their season-best T-2 finish.

Keegan Bradley, whose eight-under 64 was the low round of the day, finished in solo fourth, which gives him four finishes of T-7 or better this year. Abraham Ancer finished in solo fifth and Tommy Fleetwood and Danny Lee tied for sixth.

The post Dustin Johnson joins elite company with 19th career win at the RBC Canadian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
After a two-week break following the Players Championship, Justin Thomas is among the many marquee names in this week’s field at the Memorial Tournament. Normally, it would be like any other event on Thomas’ schedule, but this week will be different, as it marks his first start as World No. 1.

If you’ve ever heard some of the top players in the world rattle off their list of long-term goals you’ll notice some similarities that include winning a major, making the Ryder Cup team or getting to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking. The few that are able to accomplish that third item usually downplay it when they’re asked about being No. 1, something Thomas did at first on Wednesday during his press conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

“I enjoyed it for a couple days when I had the two weeks off,” Thomas said of his new ranking. “But after that, it was over with. It’s not … I wasn’t really thinking about it.”

Seems fair, but part two of Thomas’ answer shows that no matter how much he tries to minimize it, it still means a lot to reach the top.

“I think I was in the middle of flying home when D.J. finished [the Players], and I had been told [I was No. 1]. And it was like, OK, I’m almost home, but when I wake up tomorrow [and see it]. [But] I ended up staying up late enough to where I waited to refresh it and saw it and it was pretty cool. Seeing every other golfer in the world behind my name is, was a pretty fun thing.”

If you’ve ever stayed up way too late scrolling through your phone and paid for it in the morning, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Even the No. 1 player in the world can’t resist refreshing, refreshing, refreshing. In his case though, it was for a far better cause, rather than the next tweet or Instagram like us mere mortals.

Oh, and he made sure to take a picture so it would last longer as the saying goes:

Justin Thomas said he was up late enough to refresh the world rankings site and see himself at No. 1 for the first time a couple weeks ago. Took a screenshot, too. "Why wouldn't you?"

— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) May 30, 2018

PGA Tour pros, they’re just like us!

The post Justin Thomas admits he stayed up late after the Players to refresh the OWGR page and see his name move to No. 1 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
After a two-week break following the Players Championship, Justin Thomas is among the many marquee names in this week’s field at the Memorial Tournament. Normally, it would be like any other event on Thomas’ schedule, but this week will be different, as it marks his first start as World No. 1.

If you’ve ever heard some of the top players in the world rattle off their list of long-term goals you’ll notice some similarities that include winning a major, making the Ryder Cup team or getting to the top of the Official World Golf Ranking. The few that are able to accomplish that third item usually downplay it when they’re asked about being No. 1, something Thomas did at first on Wednesday during his press conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

“I enjoyed it for a couple days when I had the two weeks off,” Thomas said of his new ranking. “But after that it was over with. It’s not … I wasn’t really thinking about it.”

Seems fair, but part two of Thomas’ answer shows that no matter how much he tries to minimize it, it still means a lot to reach the top.

“I think I was in the middle of flying home when D.J. finished [the Players], and I had been told [I was No. 1]. And it was like, OK, I’m almost home, but when I wake up tomorrow [and see it]. [But] I ended up staying up late enough to where I waited to refresh it and saw it and it was pretty cool. Seeing every other golfer in the world behind my name is, was a pretty fun thing.”

If you’ve ever stayed up way too late scrolling through your phone and paid for it in the morning, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Even the No. 1 player in the world can’t resist refreshing, refreshing, refreshing. In his case though, it was for a far better cause, rather than the next tweet or Instagram like us mere mortals.

Oh, and he made sure to take a picture so it would last longer as the saying goes:

Justin Thomas said he was up late enough to refresh the world rankings site and see himself at No. 1 for the first time a couple weeks ago. Took a screenshot, too. “Why wouldn’t you?”

— Brian Wacker (@brianwacker1) May 30, 2018

PGA Tour pros, they’re just like us!

The post Justin Thomas admits he stayed up late after the Players to refresh the OWGR page and see his name move to No. 1 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Dave Shedloski
DUBLIN, Ohio – Having held the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking – seven different times – Rory McIlroy is eminently qualified to speak about the challenges of being considered the top golfer on the planet.

He did not make it sound like much fun.

“I think it’s really hard to try and play as a world number one,” the Ulsterman began as he held court Wednesday at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “I think it’s really difficult. I mean, you got so much pressure on your shoulders. I mean, there’s a bulls-eye on your back. It’s just really tough.”

Sitting in the back of the room was Justin Thomas, who is making his first start this week with the bulls-eye on his back. Thomas overtook Dustin Johnson as world No. 1 after he fired a closing 66 to finish T-11 at the Players.

McIlroy, of course, knew Thomas was in the room. He was jabbing him. Then he offered a figurative slap on the back.

“Look, obviously, there’s a reason JT is number one in the world,” McIlroy said after the laughter subsided. “It’s because he’s been playing great golf, and I think that as long as when you’re number one in the world, the demands on your time are a little bit more and as long as you don’t forget what got you to that point. And he’s great, he practices hard, and he does all the right things, so he’s not going to forget that. But you’ve just got to manage your time a little bit better and find the time to stay there.”

The task begins Thursday at Muirfield Village when Thomas joins reigning Masters champion Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler on the first tee at 8:15 a.m. EDT for the opening round of the Memorial Tournament. Winner of the 2017 PGA Championship, Thomas, a native of suburban Louisville, actually will sport two bulls-eyes as No. 1 in the world and the top-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings – the same position he occupied at the end of last season when he also was chosen PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Thomas received a trophy for winning the Jack Nicklaus Award as player of the year last fall. He was awarded $10 million to go along with a trophy for his FedEx Cup triumph. The Wannamaker Trophy sits in his house for capturing the PGA, his first major title.

A computer screen shot was his only memento when his name moved ahead of Johnson to the top of the world rankings.

“I enjoyed it for a couple days when I had the two weeks off, but after that it was over with,” said the 24-year-old Florida resident, who has two wins this season. “I wasn’t really thinking about it. Like I said, it’s odd because nothing comes with it. Like when you win a tournament, you win, you get a trophy, you get a lot of money, you do a press conference afterwards.”

Related: Justin Thomas: My Shot

The real reward is satisfaction.

“Seeing every other golfer in the world behind my name was a pretty fun thing,” said Thomas, who was up late enough to actually see his name listed second one minute and then first the next after he refreshed the screen on the OWGR website.

“Yeah, you definitely don’t get anything for number one. But it is nice being labeled as the best golfer in the world,” said Johnson, who held the top spot for 65 weeks but wasn’t distinctly downtrodden for losing it.

“He’s been playing very well, and, obviously, he’s been playing a little bit better than me, so he deserved to pass me,” said the 2016 U.S. Open champion.

“It’s a great feeling, knowing that you’re walking on to the range or walking to a golf tournament as the number one player in the world,” said McIlroy, whose seventh stint atop the heap lasted all of one week, from Sept. 13-19, 2015 as he sparred with Jason Day and Jordan Spieth. “It’s a life-long dream for all of us out here and to be able to do it is really cool. So I mean I think he should just enjoy it, but at the same time not forget what got him there in the first place.”

That’s not likely to happen, and he begins his defense of the top ranking at an event where he finished T-4 just a year ago and feels like a home game of sorts. It should. His father Mike, a club pro, is an Ohio native, and his 86-year-old grandfather Paul, a retired club pro, lives in Columbus.

“Yeah, this is a place that I love coming to,” Thomas said. “It’s a golf course that I really enjoy, it’s a city that I like, it’s the closest, about the closest I get to Louisville in terms of an event that happens every year. So this is, I get some friends to come, it’s as close as I can get to feeling a home event.”

Thomas won his other “home” event earlier this year when he captured the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., just a few miles from his house in Jupiter. He defeated Luke List in a sudden-death playoff at PGA National’s Champion Course – designed by Nicklaus, who, of course, is the man who created Muirfield Village.

Jason Dufner won the 42nd Memorial last year while holding off Thomas, Fowler and Matt Kuchar, the 2013 Memorial winner, among others. Prior to that effort, Thomas had finished 37th in his debut in 2014 and then missed the cut the following two years. He had his chances on Sunday but a series of missed opportunities cost him a sixth win of the season.

“That’s the difference between finishing fourth and winning,” he noted, something he knows all too well, especially when he has grown accustomed to the winning part.

He has the trophies to prove it. And the No. 1 ranking, too.

The post Justin Thomas enjoyed his ascent to No. 1, briefly. Now comes task of defending it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
Justin Thomas was 14 strokes back of Webb Simpson entering final round at the Players Championship, so victory at TPC Sawgrass wasn’t a real consideration. Yet the 25-year-old managed to walk away with an impressive title on Sunday, nevertheless.

How does World No.1 sound?

A closing six-under 66 bumped Thomas into a tie for 11th for the week. And when Dustin Johnson shot an even-par 72 to finish T-17, Thomas ended DJ’s 64-week run atop the Official World Golf Ranking.

Making the feat all the more impressive is the fact that Thomas made the cut on the number on Friday at one under par. But a bogey-free 68 on Saturday moved him into jumped him to T-33, and into a position to make another big leap on Sunday.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

In the last 17 months, Thomas has won six PGA Tour titles, including a major in the PGA Championship. In the 2017-’18 season, Thomas has two victories and five top-10 finishes in 13 starts and leads the tour’s FedEx Cup points standings.

“Being No. 1 in the world is a great accomplishment, but keeping that spot is more important to me,” Thomas said in a statement released by his management group. “I am very proud of this achievement and do not take it for granted. I will definitely enjoy it for the moment, but I have to continue to work hard and focus on putting myself in contention every week I play.”

Sounds like a man with a play. Thomas next start will be at the Memorial before playing in the U.S. Open and the Travelers Championship in back-to-back weeks in June.

If it’s any solace, Johnson, who was No. 1 for the fifth-longest streak in the history of the ranking, didn’t fall far, dropping only to No. 2. Jordan Spieth moved up one spot to No. 3, while Jon Rahm fell one spot to No. 4.

Thomas becomes the 21st golfer to hold the No. 1 ranking since its inception in 1986, and the fourth youngest behind Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. He’s also the seventh American golfer to be No. 1.

The post Justin Thomas does enough at Sawgrass to become World No. 1 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By E. Michael Johnson
Dustin Johnson comes to this week’s Players Championship as the World No.1. He also knows that to stay there, he’s going to have to play better than recent form. After starting the season with a win and a pair of runner-up finishes, Johnson has done no better than T-7 in his last five events. Despite being a highly respectable T-38 in strokes gained/putting, Johnson was seen on Wednesday trying out TaylorMade’s prototype Spider Mini putter.

Johnson, who does not loathe to change putters, has had a great deal of success with a black version of the Spider Tour model. The Spider Mini looks like a sawed-off version of that club, although the one Johnson was wielding was red in colour.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiJ9BEfgKb4/?utm_source=ig_embed

The company has been teasing the prototype on social media with various posts on Twitter and Instagram and the club has received plenty of interest from its tour staff, including now it’s No. 1 player. Whether Johnson uses the putter this week remains to be seen. Stay tuned.

The post Dustin Johnson might have a new putter for TPC Sawgrass appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.