Since winning The Masters in 2020, Dustin Johnson has struggled to recreate that form in his four subsequent appearances in the Augusta National Major.
A T12 in 2022 is the best he has to show for his efforts since claiming the title, while he has also missed the cut twice and finished T48 in 2023.
That’s a trend that has generally been evident in other Majors Johnson has competed in over the last four years, with a total of six missed cuts in his 16 appearances since 2021 and just three top-10 finishes.
Despite his struggles in the big events in recent years, Johnson doesn’t think he’s that far away from the form that saw him win by five at Augusta National in 2020.
He told reporters in the build-up to this year's tournament: “I mean, I was playing really good coming into here. The game was really sharp. So I feel like it's close to getting back to there. Yeah, I mean I always feel really comfortable around here. Yeah, like I said, just looking forward to a nice week and put myself in position to have a chance come the weekend.”
It’s not just the Majors where Johnson has struggled in recent times. After taking LIV Golf by storm in its inaugural season, when he was the 2022 individual champion, he has largely struggled to make a similar impact since, despite notable high points along the way.
Johnson followed up his initial success on the circuit with fifth in the individual standings in 2023, but last year was a more muted affair for the 4 Aces GC captain, where he finished 14th despite victory in the second event of the season, LIV Golf Las Vegas. However, the American failed to finish in the top 10 in the 11 events that followed last season, although there have been signs his game is trending upwards in recent weeks.
He finished T5 at LIV Golf Singapore in March while he was in contention at last week’s LIV Golf Miami until a seven-over in the final round thwarted his chances. Given that, Johnson feels his game is in a good place ahead of the tournament: “I feel good, yeah,” he said. “Everything. Body feels good; mind's good. I played pretty well the last couple weeks. Sunday I didn't. I played a lot better than my score, but yeah, I'm feeling good with the game coming in here.”
The Masters isn’t the only Major Johnson will play in this year. Thanks to his win almost half a decade ago, he has already booked his place at this year’s PGA Championship and The Open, while his US Open win of 2016 ensures his participation in that event for the next two editions.
He’ll be hoping that this week will be the catalyst for a resurgence in form at the big events to come, as he looks to turn what has been an encouraging year so far into a memorable one.
