By Art Spander
It seemed more coronation than competition. Sure, there were a few moments of doubt early on, but when it was finished there was Dustin Johnson, fighting back tears and wearing a green jacket.
Johnson had both realized a dream and broken records, taking the Masters by a figurative mile and fulfilling the promise of greatness that had been forecast but, for so long, remained more curse than blessing.
When he putted out Sunday at the final hole of the first November Masters, Johnson had a 4-under 68, an unimaginable total of 20-under-par 268 — two shots lower than the winning marks shared by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth — and a five-shot victory, the largest margin since Tiger’s triumph in 1997.
And when CBS’ Amanda Balionis, on a green near the Augusta National clubhouse — alone because of pandemic restrictions — asked Johnson what the win meant, he reached up to wipe his eyes and then paused several times to gather himself.
“On the golf course, I’m pretty good at it,” he said about controlling emotions. “Out here, I’m not. As a kid I dreamed about winning the Masters.”
He is the son of a golf pro and grew up in South Carolina, a couple hours away from Augusta.
“It’s been the tournament I wanted to win most,” he said.
Now he’s won it, a second major along with the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont — a poignant answer to those who belittled his golfing intelligence, who emphasized his failing instead of his success. And since he’s No. 1 in the world rankings, he’s had a considerable amount of success.
He has 27 wins and was PGA Tour Player of the Year in 2016 and 2020. At 36, Johnson is both young and experienced. He survived disappointment and criticism — blowing that lead in the last round of the 2002 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach made him wiser stronger.
“He’s been knocking at the door so long,” said Rory McIlroy of Johnson. “I think this validates what he did at Oakmont.”
McIlroy also has been knocking on the Masters door. It’s the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments Rory hasn’t won. He was nine shots behind Johnson this time.
Asked about Johnson’s devil-may-care image, McIlroy said, “He’s smarter than you think. He’s switched on more than everyone in the media thinks. I’ll just put it that way.”
The fourth day of this unique Masters, one without paying spectators — patrons, they’re called by the club — one in autumn rather than April, began with in morning in order to finish before afternoon NFL games.
Johnson was four shots ahead at tee-off, but that margin was trimmed to one after he bogied four and five. It quickly was restored. Johnson birdied six and went on his way.
Cameron Smith of Australia, who shot 69 and became the first player in the tournament’s 84 years with all four rounds in the 60s, and Sungjae Im of Korea tied for second at 273, 15-under.
“I was actually saying before, you know, I'd take 15‑under around here the rest of my career and I might win a couple,” said Smith. “So yeah, that’s just the way it is.”
Because Johnson was just the way he was — and the course, after that heavy rain Thursday morning just when play began, was just the way it was. Brooks Koepka, winner twice of the U.S. Open and twice of the PGA, said the turf was to Johnson’s liking.
“The course suited him down to the ground,” said Koepka, who tied for seventh. “He’s more of a picker of the ball. He doesn’t spin it that much with his irons. The ball’s not going to be backing up.
“He’s been on a tear since the Travelers (in June, after the Tour restarted). It almost feels like it’s coming, and it was this week.”
Said Johnson, alluding to the virus pandemic and tournaments without fans and thus without cheers, “It has been a really strange year, but it’s been really good to me.”
You might say it was a masterful year.