Johnson’s Roll Continues at Riviera

By Ron Green Jr. – Global Golf Post

Johnson became the No. 1 player in the world ranking with his victory, the first time in his career he’s held the top ranking, supplanting Jason Day.

The win marked the 10th consecutive season in which Johnson has won at least one PGA Tour event, the longest such streak on Tour. Johnson has won every year he’s been on Tour.

In a tournament week that seemed destined to extend into Monday due to the heavy wind and rain that wiped out much of Friday at Riviera, it turned out that the tournament was essentially over by lunchtime Sunday.

By that point, Johnson had closed out his third round with three birdies in a row and he was six strokes ahead during his brief lunch break. When Johnson birdied the first two holes in the final round, he was eight clear and Day’s 47-week reign at No. 1 was effectively over.

Johnson became the 20th player since the world ranking was instituted to hold the No. 1 spot and the fifth (along with Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth and Day) since Tiger Woods last
held the spot in 2014.

“If he keeps playing the way he’s playing, we’ve got to pick all of our games up to try and compete against him,” Day said.

For all the focus on Johnson’s power, the improvement in his wedge game and putting has triggered his ascension to the top of the ranking. Johnson was third in the field in strokes gained putting at Riviera. He also played 49 holes without
a bogey in one stretch.

While Johnson dominated the event, it was also an important weekend for Tour rookie Wesley Bryan, who shot a third-round 63 and finished tied for fourth in just his 13th Tour start.

Thomas Pieters, who won the 2012 NCAA individual championship at Riviera, continued his infatuation with the course, shooting a final-round 63 that earned him a tie for second. The finish will go a long way toward securing the 25-year-old Belgian his PGA Tour card for next season.

Driver: TaylorMade 2017 M1 (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder Evolution 2.0 Tour Spec 661X

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade M2 Tour (3HL, 16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS T100 6.5 (75 grams)

Irons: TaylorMade UDi (2), TaylorMade Tour Preferred MB ’14 (3-PW)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: TaylorMade Milled Grind (52-09 and 60-10)
Shaft: KBS Tour Wedge 130X Black Nickel

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour Black
Grip: SuperStroke Pistol GT 1.0
Specs: 35 inches, 2.5 degrees, 69 degrees, E0

Golf Ball: TaylorMade TP5x

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BRIXdfiVFY&feature=youtu.be

Republished with permission by Global Golf Post.