Dustin Johnson annihilated the field and pulverized his driver en route to an eight-stroke victory at the Sentry Tournament of Championships on Sunday.
Johnson, who won for the 17th time on Tour, averaged a tournament-best 324.7 yards off the tee and, of course, wowed the golf world with his smash on the par-4 12th on Sunday. Johnson crushed his tee shot 430 yards — tied for the longest drive on Tour this season — and came a few rotations short of an ace. Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee went as far as saying it was the greatest golf shot he’s ever seen.
“When I walked off the tee, I kind of heard some people yelling and it sounded like they were coming from behind 12 green, so I’m like, OK, it’s on the green,” Johnson told reporters afterward. “I just didn’t know it was that close until about halfway down one of the TV guys told me.”
Johnson averaged 92 yards to the hole on his second shots into par 4s for the entire week, a frightening stat even though Kapalua is a bomber’s dream layout. But what’s scary for Johnson’s competitors is that he still has more left in the tank. A reporter asked if his drive on 12 was as hard as he could hit a driver.
“No, I hit it probably 90 percent,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever hit one 100 percent, though.”
Apparently the World No. 1 has an extra 10 percent available.
“I was messing with Bones when we were in the fairway, because it came up, it was like four inches short. I said, ‘I hit it a little thin.’ But, no, I was just joking. I hit it perfect,” Johnson said.
DJ after nearly making an ace on a par 4. pic.twitter.com/1Uu5vKDFmA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 8, 2018
