Dustin Johnson Closes Out West Coast Swing With Win
- Dan Hauser
- 20 Feb, 2017
Dustin Johnson survived the rest of the field, the weather, and a couple late bogeys to win the Genesis Open Sunday, closing the book on the 2017 West Coast Swing. The win made it 10 straight seasons where DJ has had at least one win and vaulted him to the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.
It was an eventful week for the Johnson/Gretzky family. On Friday, DJ’s fiance Paulina Gretzky announced the couple was expecting their second child. On Sunday, their first child, Tatum was on the 18th green with dad holding the trophy.
For Dustin, the ascent to #1 in the world is the culmination of a plan put in place by Johnson with his longtime trainer Joey Diovisalvi and swing coach Butch Harmon.
“He said, ‘Joey D, I don’t care what it takes; I want to win majors and be No. 1 in the world.’ I’ll never forget it,” Diovisalvi said to Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel. “Like many athletes, you have talent, you become aware of it and you find that hard work will take you to a place where if you stay focused and balanced you can go so far.”
Johnson had already crossed the major championship off the list when he won the 2016 U.S. Open. Now he can cross off #1 in the world too.
“He does want to be [great],” Harmon said. “We have talked about it since the season started. Being No. 1 is his goal, but he knows that winning is the only way to take care of that. He knows that all the hard work is paying off. When the season started I thought he’d be No. 1 very quickly.”
Johnson becomes just the 20th golfer to hold the top spot in the rankings since they were created in 1986. He also joins Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win at least one event for 10-plus seasons immediately after turning pro since 1960.
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
