It seems being the world No 1 suits Dustin Johnson down to an absolute tee. Since assuming this global position of authority, a lofty status which can often give some players a dizzying bout of vertigo, Johnson has won two events on the spin.
His battling victory over the tenacious, swashbuckling Spaniard, John Rahm, in the WGC Dell Matchplay Championship on Sunday was his third victory in succession and strengthened his place at the head of the world order. With the Masters just over a week away, many are already visualising him easing his arms into the sleeves of the Green Jacket.
It’s not hard to imagine, of course. Johnson is riding the crest of a wave at the moment and is in one of those zones where even this most capricious of games seems easy. “Some days it does but about 95 per cent of the days it does not,” said the 32-year-old. “When you’re rolling in putts, that’s when the game gets pretty easy.”
Johnson will now go into a major championship as the world No 1 for the first time in his career. Pressure? What pressure? “How do I like it?, I don't care,” he said with his trademark shrug. “I mean, it's still just a ranking. I don't feel any different. I still go in every week preparing the same that I always have.”
The ominous sign for those playing catch up is that Johnson feels there is plenty left in the locker. “It's impossible to win every week, I know that, but being No 1 kind of drives me to work harder and to get better," he added. "And I think I can get better with all aspects of the game.”
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy has confirmed that he won’t be playing in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Dundonald this season. The domestic showpiece is staged the week before the Open Championship but McIlroy will play in his own Irish Open over the links of Portstewart the week before the Scottish event and then head to Royal Birkdale for the third major of the season.
McIlroy last played in the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen in 2014, and the won the Open the following week at Hoylake. His missed the 2015 Scottish Open at Gullane through injury and did not enter last year.
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