With Saudi Arabia noise behind him, Dustin Johnson’s focus is on the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Go figure.

Dustin Johnson has won all around the world – more than 25 victories, 24 coming on the PGA Tour – is a former world No. 1, a two-time major champion.

Among the sites he’s won are the rugged Oakmont Country Club, Augusta National Golf Club, Riviera Country Club, Pebble Beach Golf Links, the Plantation in Maui, and TPC Southwind in Memphis.

But there’s one course that has his number – the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, home to the PGA Tour’s flagship event. In 12 appearances on Pete Dye’s masterful, troublesome gem, Johnson has but one top 10.

Makes no sense, right? Even Johnson doesn’t know why he hasn’t had more success, either.

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“Honestly I don’t know because I like the golf course and I feel like it sets up well for me,” Johnson said Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s start of the Players. “I would say if anything that’s held me back, it’s probably just putting around here.

“But I feel like moving to March, I feel like I can read the greens a little bit better.

“The last few days I feel like I’m rolling the ball really well on the greens, but I would say that would probably be the number one thing. Just playing in May, I don’t know why I always struggled on the greens.

“I feel really comfortable out here, and I’ve had a little more success the last few years since we moved it and hopefully can continue that.”

As far as the Stadium Course, Johnson, 37, has his only top 10 in the Players – a tie for fifth in 2019 – since the tournament moved from May to March.

“I feel like the course is in better condition, obviously, with the overseed,” Johnson said. “But plays a little bit longer. Obviously, in May it’s really warm. The course plays really fast. I feel like this time of year the course definitely suits my game a little bit better.”

Not much has suited his game of late. Johnson has dropped to No. 9 in the world, his lowest rank since March of 2016. And after winning 15 times from the start of 2016 through the end of 2020, he’s won just once – the 2021 Saudi International.

He missed the cut in the Genesis Invitational in his last start three weeks ago.

“There’s not a very simple answer, but just haven’t played well,” Johnson replied when asked why he’s gone more than a year without winning.

“I don’t know if we have enough time,” he said when asked for the more complicated answer.

When pressed a bit, however, Johnson continued.

“Last year I felt like I was doing a lot of driver testing, and kind of took away a little bit from what I needed to be working on,” he said. “Was testing all year really. I must have tested 100 drivers probably.

“So then obviously testing drivers all year that kind of leaks into the iron game, and it just felt like I never could really match it up where if I was driving it well, I wasn’t hitting my irons very good, if I was hitting my irons really well, I wasn’t driving it good. So it was just kind of a frustrating year.”

He hinted at another reason. Johnson was rumored to be one of the players who would join the potential Saudi Arabia-backed Super Golf League that would siphon off players from the PGA Tour and be a direct rival.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan hasn’t sat still and has said the PGA Tour is moving on with tremendous momentum and any player who would join up with the Saudis could face banishment from the PGA Tour.

Some of the game’s top players – Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, and Bryson DeChambeau – have been vocal in recent weeks in their support of the PGA Tour.

Johnson joined the list three weeks ago when he released a statement saying his focus will be on the PGA Tour. But the noise surrounding the league for more than a year weighed on Johnson.

“Any time you have something that’s not what you’re doing it’s going to distract you,” he said. “But for me, I don’t think it was too much of a distraction. Maybe it was, I don’t know. I can’t really answer that.

“But just wanted to have my complete focus on golf and playing on the PGA Tour. That was the main reason for the statement.”

And this week on the PGA Tour, his focus is the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

“I had a lot of good work last week. I’ve had some good work this week,” he said. “The game has been pretty good this year, just have struggled with the putting a little bit. But put in a lot of work last week, this week, and feel like I’m rolling it a lot better.”