Dustin Johnson has been hanging onto his top world ranking by a thread over the past few weeks and there’s a good chance he’ll lose it this week at the PGA Tour’s flagship event. The reason why DJ is going to tumble from the top of the Official World Golf Rankings is anyone’s guess, but someone who’s closer to his game than practically anybody has a theory.
Per @GolfARob, there are 5 different potential no. 1 players next week depending on finishes at @THEPLAYERSChamp:
Johnson
Thomas
Rahm
Spieth
Rose— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 7, 2018
Butch Harmon, one of the most respected and popular teachers in professional golf, has been working with Johnson since 2010, but he had some critical things to say about DJ on Tuesday’s edition of Morning Drive.
“Before he hurt himself at Augusta last year, there was nobody that could come close to him. He was on top of his game,” Harmon said. “How do we get him back? I think he’s got to work a little harder. He’s got to go back to the things he was doing then.
“DJ’s kind of a laid back guy, as you know Damon. He enjoys his life. He enjoys his time off. But I think he’s got to put in a little more work and a little more time.”
Harmon qualified his statements slightly by giving credit to the crop of young players out on Tour, and ultimately concluded with a good report for fans of Johnson.
“The other thing is these kids have gotten a little better,” the coach said. “Some of them we’ve never heard of. You look at the young man last week, (Aaron) Wise (who finished tied for second at Quail Hollow, look how good he played.
“(Johnson) likes being No. 1. He’s back to working a little harder, back to being the DJ that we like.”
Johnson will play the first two rounds of the Players Championship alongside Brooks Koepka and Bubba Watson. They tee off at 8:05 a.m. on Thursday.
Dustin Johnson has never finished in the top-10 at #ThePlayers in 9 career starts. It is the only PGA Tour event he has played 4 or more times without ever recording a top-10.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) May 8, 2018
