Former winning European Ryder Cup Captain, Paul McGinley expects more Major titles to come into the possession of newly crowned Masters champion Dustin Johnson in the next few years but tempered talk that the floodgates could open for DJ given the array of talent currently out on Tour.
In his Sky Sports column, the Dubliner was full of praise for how Johnson handled pre-tournament favouritism and embraced his world number one status to romp home by five shots at Augusta National and although he believes the future is a bright one for the 36-year old, he fell short of predicting a reign of dominance is about to begin under Johnson.
“It has been an unbelievable performance by Johnson, not just the aggressive plays and the birdies he made, it was the way he went about it and the way he constructed each round,” said McGinley. “It was his short game, it was his resilience, it was his ability to bounce back on six to make a birdie on the back of bogeys on four and five. He controlled this tournament from the first round.
“He was one of the bookies’ favourites coming in here and arrived in an unbelievable run of form. He’s had great performances at Augusta over the past four visits, culminating in second place last year before the win now. It was fully deserved, he is a deserving champion and I think there is more to come.
“He played very well in the PGA Championship as well – where Collin Morikawa shot an unbelievable last round to pip him – and he’s carried on that form since. He had to sit himself out with Covid, then he came back and straight away came second in Houston, so everything was trending towards a really great performance here at Augusta. There are more majors to come, there is no doubt about that, but there is too much competition out there now for floodgates to open.”
Many viewers were surprised to witness a floodgate opening of a different kind after Sunday’s final round as Johnson, decked out in his fresh winner’s green jacket, let his emotions run loose in a teary display – not quite to Bubba Watson levels – but heartfelt enough to win a few new fans who perhaps believed that the game, and particularly tournaments like the Masters, didn’t mean all that much to the seemingly carefree American.
Winning the Masters is a dream come true for Dustin Johnson. pic.twitter.com/2gGJ9HuMSJ
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 15, 2020
“This means more to him than winning the US Open, as an American player, with The Masters the one they want to win more than any other,” McGinley noted.
“You could see how much it meant to him when he was interviewed afterwards, as he referenced the Green Jacket, the fact he is going to be going the Champions’ Dinner and he’s coming back here for as pretty much as long as he wants – all of those things are important to him. This is a different Dustin Johnson and we have been saying it for a few months. He had the focus and determination in the tournaments leading into that, had his eye on the prize to win that and went on to deliver.”
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