Dustin Johnson still a force to be reckoned with after Travelers Championship title

Dustin Johnson snaps 16-month winless drought at Travelers.

You would never know from watching Dustin Johnson’s cool, stoic demeanor on the golf course that he’s been locked in a lengthy winless drought. The former World No. 1 exudes little emotion at the best of times, but even he had to be satisfied with walking away the Travelers Championship winner on Sunday.

Johnson fired a three-under 67 in the final round at TPC River Highlands to beat Kevin Streelman by one shot at 19-under. It’s the 36-year-old’s 21st career PGA Tour title, moving him into a tie for 30th on the all-time list with Hall of Famers Davis Love III, Lanny Wadkins, and Craig Wood, and extends his streak of winning at least one event on tour to 13 straight seasons.

This victory, though, was a long time coming for Johnson. He hadn’t won an event in 16 months, since the WGC-Mexico Championship last February. In between, he went 20 consecutive tournaments without a victory, his longest drought since a 29-event stretch from the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March 2015 to his U.S. Open title in June 2016. He hadn’t had a top-five finish since being runner-up to Brooks Koepka at the PGA Championship last May.

Johnson seemed to have this title well in hand through 12 holes on Sunday. Fresh off setting a new career-high with a 61 in Saturday’s third round, he was four-under on his final round and leading by three shots heading to the par-5 13th. Staying aggressive and taking out his driver, he hit his tee shot well to the left toward the railroad track that runs parallel to the course. It crept over the out-of-bounds marker by just a few inches, forcing Johnson to hit a provisional and scramble to salvage a bogey. At the short par-4 15th, his tee shot with a 3-hybrid flirted with the water hazard but plugged into a thin stretch of rough. Forced to stand ankle-deep in the water to hit his second shot, he managed to save par.

Following an hour-long weather delay, Johnson still led Streelman by one playing the 18th. Streelman had stolen this event before; six years ago, he won here by making birdie on his final seven holes, the first player in PGA Tour history to win an event in such dramatic fashion. But Johnson saved his best shot for last, unleashing a 351-yard drive down the center of the fairway, the longest at this hole on the day by 15 yards, and two-putting for par and the championship.

With the victory, Johnson becomes only the fourth golfer to win an event in his first 13 years on tour. He’s in heady company, joining Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Tiger Woods. He also tied Woods for most victories on tour since the start of 2008. They’re all accomplishments Johnson takes immense pride in.

“I’m proud of all of them, obviously,” he said at his post-victory press conference. “Winning the U.S. Open at Oakmont is my biggest win, for sure, but winning 13 straight years on the tour is a pretty big accomplishment. So they’re pretty close to what I’m most proud of.”

“Anytime you’re mentioned with those guys…you’ve got to feel good about that. They’re the best that’s ever played this game so anytime your name is mentioned in the same sentence with them, I’m very happy.”

Johnson’s struggles this season extended to all facets of his game. He’s dropped to 22nd on tour in driving distance after being ranked in the top-five in nine of the last 10 seasons. He’s 134th in strokes gained: putting after reaching as high as 25th in 2018. And he’s 191st around the green, a stat he ranked inside the top-40 the last two years. With a missed cut at Colonial and a tie for 17th at the RBC Heritage since the tour’s restart, Johnson came into this week outside the top-100 in the FedEx Cup standings.

He’s projected to rise to 22nd in the standings with this victory. It’s not as high as he’s used to, but after what he showed this week, Johnson put the rest of the tour on notice that he hasn’t gone anywhere.