Masters 2020: Earnestly likeable Dustin Johnson becomes a champion in title and spirit
When Dustin Johnson stepped to the first tee on Sunday morning with a four-shot lead at the 2020 Masters, he received only a smattering of applause. Various members of Augusta National Golf Club along with their spouses and some volunteers clapped as the No. 1 player on the planet tried to lock up the second major of his career.
Up on the veranda beyond the big oak tree that shields the clubhouse from the first tee, a group of waiters and waitresses wearing green Masters-logo masks oversaw the tee shot. They added to the applause. Johnson bumped his brother Austin’s fist as the final round of the 84th Masters began.
Two-hundred and fifty minutes later, Dustin again bumped Austin’s fist. They were on the 18th tee box, and Dustin had just obliterated his tee shot. Over the preceding four hours, his lead had increased by just one shot, but you could fit the World Golf Hall of Fame in the chasm between leading by five with one to go and leading by four with 18 holes left. They knew Dustin was about to add Augusta National to his now-growing collection of major championships.
There are a million reasons for which one roots for an athlete or team in the sports we love. Some are vapid, many are legitimate. The unifier is that everyone loves a good story.
Dustin Johnson — perhaps somewhat improbably (if you followed the beginning of his career) — checks a lot of the “easy to cheer for” boxes. On Sunday, he may have checked the rest of them.
The wheels wobbled early as Johnson chunked a chip at the 2nd hole into a bunker before recovering for par. He made two bogeys in his first five hole and saw his lead thin to one stroke entering the 6th. Memories of the four 54-hole leads D.J. has lost at majors started to creep into play.
“There was doubts in my mind, just because I had been there,” said Johnson after the round. “I’m in this position a lot of times. Like, ‘When am I going to have the lead and finish off the golf tournament or finish off a major?'”
D.J. recovered with birdies at No. 6 and No. 8, taking a two-stroke lead to the second nine. As he sauntered from the 9th green to the 10th tee, a fellow golf scribe cackled. “Have you ever tried to walk like that?” he asked, pointing at D.J. “You can’t do it. You’re born with that.”
#Dustin_Johnson Becomes #Champion Of #Masters_2020
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