The 2019 Honda Classic is over, and we have a new king of the world golf rankings: Dustin Johnson. So how well did DJ play to earn the top spot? Not that well. In fact, he wasn’t even in the field.
Johnson was one of many top pros who chose to sit out the Honda Classic at PGA National this year. DJ, though, had the best excuse: he had just dominated at the WGC-Mexico Championship to earn his 20th career PGA Tour victory.
That win moved him up to No. 2 in the World behind only Justin Rose. Rose didn’t play the Honda either, and thanks to the convoluted mathematical ranking system, DJ was able to sneak by him this week without hitting a shot.
While Rose can’t complain since he didn’t play the Honda either, one player does have the right to be upset.
Brooks Koepka, who held the top spot in the world golf rankings as recently as November, did play the Honda. And not only did he play, he went eight under to finish T-2. That performance was good enough to move him past Justin Thomas to No. 3 in the rankings, but it did not provide him with enough points to pass Rose and Johnson.
The silver lining for Koepka? He still owns more major championship titles than DJ and Rose, combined.
Johnson should enjoy his perch at the top of the rankings mountain while it lasts. He’s taking another week off, while both Rose and Koepka are in the field at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. A solid performance by either could topple Dustin from the mountaintop.
