Here goes, though I’ll be blunt, this is a nice win by a nice guy but by no means does this one write itself. But hey, Tiger made 10 and still shot 76 before placing the green jacket on Dustin Johnson who posted a tournament record 268 for his second major title.
Dateline Augusta, GA, starting with USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio:
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Just a month ago, Dustin Johnson was holed up in a Las Vegas hotel room self-quarantining for 11 days after testing positive for COVID-19.
Now, after a week of record-setting brilliance in the Masters, he can head to the exclusive Champions Locker Room at Augusta National for the rest of his life.
The Augusta Chronicle managed to bring back David Westin after laying off everyone who writes golf (good job Morris geniuses!) and he penned this:
Dustin Johnson knows what the top of the golf world looks like now.
It’s quite a view for the man who grew up in Irmo, South Carolina – an hour’s drive from Augusta – and dreamed of one day winning the Masters Tournament and slipping on the green jacket that goes to the champion.
Johnson, the first native South Carolinian to win the Masters, on Sunday donned the famed jacket (42 long to be exact) after breaking the tournament scoring record that had stood for 23 years, winning by five shots.
AP’s Doug Ferguson with this lede:
Nothing ever comes easily for Dustin Johnson in the majors, except for slipping into that Masters green jacket.
Johnson overcame a jittery start that conjured memories of past majors he failed to finish off. He turned that into a command performance, making sure this one-of-a-kind Masters with no fans also had no drama.
Not even close.
Golf.com’s Michael Bamberger started his gamer this way:
The soul of the famous seasonal club here is more Southern than anything else, so in that sense, and in every sense, its newest unofficial member, Mr. Dustin, should feel right at home, here at the Augusta National, as the Texas golf legend Ben Hogan liked to call the place.
The New York Times’ Bill Pennington:
For 10 years, Dustin Johnson’s chase for career-defining, major championship titles was tinged with ruthless angst, misfortune and calamitous setbacks.
He grounded a club in an unobserved bunker at the 2010 P.G.A. Championship to earn a heartless penalty that bounced him from a playoff for the victory. Five years later, at the United States Open, a three-putt on the final hole cost him another major championship playoff berth. Riding a hot streak that made him the prohibitive favorite at the Masters three years ago, Johnson slipped on the stairs at his rental house on the tournament’s eve and withdrew with a back injury.
Even as he won the 2016 U.S. Open, he was saddled with the ignominy of a penalty assessed after his celebration on the final hole.
But on Sunday, with verve and nerve, Johnson comfortably secured the validating breakthrough achievement he has long sought with a runaway, five-stroke victory at the 2020 Masters.
Golf.com’s Alan Shipnuck on the Johnson journey to Masters glory:
Nine years ago, while piloting his boat down Florida’s Intercoastal Waterway, Dustin Johnson was asked not about the destination but what even back then seemed like his destiny: winning a green jacket. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the Southern rock booming out of the boat’s many speakers: “It’s gonna happen, bro.”
Bill Fields at Masters.com zeroed in on the shot that ended Sunday’s drama: an 8-iron at the suddenly breezy 12th.
The final group arrived at the 12th tee at Augusta National at 1 p.m. Sunday, lunch time for the leader at a normal Masters Tournament but crunch time in this one.
It had been calm all week on the softened course, but by the time Dustin Johnson got to the famous water-fronted par 3, there was some wind, and on No. 12, where Rae’s Creek drowned a few dreams in 2019, some wind is enough.
“It’s all over the place,” Tiger Woods said later of the fickle breeze, an accomplice in the five-time champion’s shocking score of 10 on the 12th hole not too long before Johnson arrived there.
Johnson did not dawdle before hitting an 8-iron. His ball and three-stroke lead carried safely to the green, 21 feet left of the flagstick. There was a deep breath followed by a half-smile and a pivotal par, with three consecutive birdies after that, assuring this big one wasn’t going to get away from Johnson as a handful of others had.
Bob Harig at ESPN.com focused on Johnson’s partnership with his brother, Austin.
The first hug afterward went to Austin, who has come of age just as his brother has in recent years, forming a partnership that is now quite formidable, as Johnson has a remarkable 24 PGA Tour wins at age 36.
"When I started, I was more of a buddy, someone for him to hang out with,'' Austin said beside the Augusta National putting green before the green-jacket ceremony. "I'm a decent player. I know the game. But being a top caddie? Not even close.
"But I was a sponge. If I got close to [Jim] Bones Mackay [Phil Mickelson's former longtime caddie], I wouldn't leave his side. I'd ask him everything I could. John Wood [another longtime caddie]. At these team events. I just learned. And earned [Dustin's] trust. And it's gotten to where now he's leaned on me pretty heavily out there. I'm just glad it has worked out the way it has.''
Every shot of Dustin Johnson’s final round courtesy of Masters.com.
The final leaderboard.
After the Green Jacket Ceremony—a painful tradition unlike any other—that included quite a few glances over Jim Nantz’s shoulder (Ghost of Clifford Roberts? Cue Cards?), here is the “will it fit” moment:
