Oakmont, United States: Dustin Johnson shrugged off a series of major championship disappointments and potential controversy to capture the US Open on Sunday, ridding himself of one of the most unwanted tags in golf.
“I feel lighter,” Johnson said after shedding the weight of that “best golfer never to win a major” label.
“I’ve been in this situation time and time again. For me to finally get it done on Sunday in a major, it’s a huge monkey off my back.”
Johnson came into the week with 11 top-10 finishes in major championships.
At the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, he was penalised a shot on the final hole for grounding his club in a hazard, missing a spot in a playoff. He had led the US Open that year at Pebble Beach through 54 holes but ultimately finished eighth.
Last year, he three-putted the 72nd hole at Chambers Bay to hand Jordan Spieth the US Open crown.
All week Johnson insisted he’d moved on from Chambers Bay, that last year’s disappointment and the ones that came before didn’t haunt him.
But in the glow of a storming victory - wrested from third-round leader Shane Lowry and earned in the shadow of another rules controversy - the normally laconic Johnson let his emotions show.
“After last year, to come back this year and peform like this – I think it shows what kind of golfer I am,” said the world number six, who notched his 10th PGA Tour title.
After his experience at Whistling Straits, where he grounded his club in a pebbly patch of sand that he thought was a waste area rather than a bunker, the rules controversy that blew up Sunday had special resonance.
Johnson was up by just one Sunday when he learned US Golf Association officials were reconsidering a ruling at the fifth green, and he could be penalised a shot for causing his ball to move as he prepared to putt.
“I felt like I wasn’t going to be penalised, so I just went about my business,” Johnson said, and when the penalty was indeed assessed, he’d built a big enough lead to make the matter moot.
“I’m glad it didn’t matter ... that would have been bad,” Johnson said.
Instead, Johnson finally got his magic major moment at the 72nd hole, splitting the fairway with his drive, and following with a fine approach to set up just the second birdie of the day at the 18th.
“It was a very nice way to finish. Maybe one of the best shots I ever hit, especially under the circumstance,” he said of his six-iron into the green.
“I was very happy to see I had a little three-footer to finish.”
With his brother Austin carrying his bag, Johnson didn’t have to look far to find someone to celebrate with.
“He’s my best friend. So to have somebody you really enjoy being out there with you, it definitely makes things a lot better,” Johnson said. “To have my brother out there with me, it’s been awesome the past 2 1/2 years. It’s just getting better.”
Austin Johnson is part of the support system that has helped Johnson bounce back from turbulent times in 2014, when he “stepped away” from the PGA Tour amid reports he’d been suspended for a failed drug test.
The Tour said Johnson’s absence was voluntary, and while he later denied testing positive for recreational drugs he did acknowledge excessive alcohol use. He’s pointed to partner Paulina Gretzky – daughter of NHL great Wayne Gretzky – and their young son Tatum with helping him find balance in his life.
“I’ve got a great support system with Paulina, my son Tatum, my family, my team that’s around me, a great support system. So it’s been a great road,” Johnson said.
“I’m definitely a stronger person coming out the other side.”
