Dustin Johnson conceded that he wasn’t 100 percent healthy coming off a three-month break.
The third-ranked player in the world underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last fall following one of the worst stretches of his career. He didn’t play again until the Presidents Cup in December, then took another few weeks off before beginning his year with back-to-back top-7 finishes at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and Saudi International. He played three more events before golf was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I didn’t really get a lot of golf to get back in a rhythm,” he said.
Johnson said Sunday that he tweaked his knee during the break and wouldn’t have played the restart event at Colonial under normal circumstances, because he hadn’t fully prepared. He even underwent an MRI after missing the cut that week, worried that he may have done further damage to his surgically repaired knee. Instead, the exam showed only a strained tendon, and he was able to play the following week at Harbour Town, where he tied for 17th.
“I felt like it was really close to being great at Hilton Head, and the coming here, I really felt good about things,” he said.
Johnson shot 19-under 261 and won the Travelers by a shot over Kevin Streelman. It was Johnson’s 21st career PGA Tour title.