PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Dustin Johnson didn’t fret over his worst finish since last July.
He had already diagnosed the problem.
“I didn’t drive it my best and so I played pretty poorly,” he said Tuesday at The Players. “Pretty simple.”
Though far from disastrous, Johnson’s last five rounds have stood out considering his red-hot form coming in.
Sunday at the Genesis Invitational, with a chance to win, Johnson shot over par in the final round for the first time in a year. At Concession, he was spotted before the tournament with about five drivers on the range. He didn’t find the answer – he ranked 59th in strokes gained: off-the-tee on a course that was fairly forgiving off the tee.
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Johnson tied for 54th in the WGC-Workday Championship – his worst result since a missed cut at the Memorial in July. He came into the event with 11 consecutive finishes inside the top 11, including three wins.
“Ball position was getting a little too far back, which causes me to hit it both ways,” he said. “It takes a little bit to work on that, but I fixed it and feel pretty good over the driver now.”
Johnson said he “drove it great” in a nine-hole practice round Tuesday at TPC Sawgrass, where he’s finished inside the top 20 in each of his past three appearances. Prior to that, he hadn’t been better than 28th.