U.S. Open Recap: DJ Conquers Oakmont

When they talked about the best golfer on the planet, the conversation largely went something like this: Maybe it's Jason Day, maybe it's Jordan Spieth, but when Rory McIlroy plays his best, his best is better than their best.

Dustin Johnson's best had never been a part of that conversation – with good reason. It hadn't mattered how good Johnson's actual golf was because he always found a way to lose. The list of blown majors is well documented, and the videotape has been painful, even excruciating.

Now, in a remarkable four-day stretch, Johnson has played his best, physically and mentally. He won the 116th U.S. Open for his first major title, conquering mighty Oakmont with a 4-under 276 score for a three-stroke victory.

To say that Johnson got the monkey off his back – "It's a huge monkey," he told reporters on Sunday night – doesn't do justice to his accomplishment.

"I think it's well deserved," Johnson continued. "After everything that I've been through in the majors, I've knocked on the door a bunch of times. To finally get that major win, it's huge."

Yes, it is. And now the so-called Big 3 has a new member. Day and Spieth are still Nos. 1 and 2, but McIlroy has been usurped by Johnson (Bubba Watson is fifth and Rickie Flounder, er, Fowler fell to sixth).

Johnson's performance was mighty. He finished first in strokes gained: driving, according to PGATour.com. He was second in ball striking, hitting more than 64 percent of fairways and 76 percent of green in regulation.

Tiger Woods brought fitness and athleticism to a new place in golf, but no golfer possesses the skill set of Johnson. At 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, Johnson played high school basketball and can dunk. Back in 2011, his trainer, Randy Myers, told Sports Illustrated that Johnson has remarkable speed and agility, on an NFL level. "I've been doing this for 23 years, and he's the best athlete I've ever seen," Myers told the magazine.

Johnson also has a deft touch. His short game is getting better and his putting, because of some high-profile misses, is better than advertised. Johnson is 45th on tour in strokes gained: putting. With his length, that will do just fine, thank you.

We can't write this story without addressing the USGA controversy, even though it didn't affect the final outcome. Whether you think Johnson had a role in his ball moving ever so slightly on the fifth green or not, the biggest travesty was that no decision was rendered until after the round. Would Johnson get a one-stroke penalty? No one knew. Except Johnson. And it helped him immeasurably.

Johnson said he knew he would not be penalized and played the final holes accordingly. Now, it turned out that Johnson was wrong – he was docked a stroke afterward – but his belief put his mind in the right place to finish off a major title.

While all the announcers and social media were up in arms, Johnson said he was not. For all the previous talk, and rightly so, of Johnson not having the mental toughness to finish off majors, his calmness proved to be the eye of the storm – which is always the safest place to be.

So where does Johnson go from here? Well, he's now won a tournament every year he's been on tour, nine years running, and only Woods has done better at the start of a career. He's back to his career best at No. 3 in the world. Usually when a golfer wins his first major, it's such a life-altering experience, with so many off-the-course changes, that it's hard to devote the proper time to actual golf. But we think that Johnson is such a cool cat that he will just continue moseying on as he always does, to the Open Championship, the PGA Championship and beyond.

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Jim Furyk

If there was any concern about Furyk's ability, in his 40s, to come back from wrist surgery, it's now gone. The Pennsylvania native closed with the best round of Sunday, 4-under 66, to finish in a three-way tie for second. Furyk was first in strokes gained on approach shots, according to PGATour.com, eighth in strokes gained for his short game and 14th in putting. That will get it done much of the time. Furyk will likely keep on keeping on, coming close but not winning, beginning this week at the Quicken Loans National. But keep in mind, it's always dicey considering a high major finisher for your lineup the following week, or really anyone who was at Oakmont. It's hard to refocus again in a lesser event just a few days later, especially after such a brutal test.

Shane Lowry

For three days, Shane Lowry putted better than Shane Lowry normally putts. And then on Sunday, he putted like the mediocre-to-poor putter that he is, and he stumbled to a 6-over 76 to tie for second. The Irishman has a wonderful tee-to-green game, good enough to win the WGC-Bridgestone last year. But he's in the mid-80s (out of about 200) in strokes gained: putting on the tour. At Oakmont, he was sixth.

Scott Piercy

Piercy is only 38th in the FedEx Cup standings. We say "only," because he's been fantastic in the big tournaments: T17 at the WGC-Cadillac, T29 at the Masters, T23 at The Players and now T2 at the U.S. Open. Piercy now has top-25s in more than half (nine of 17) of his starts this season. He won an opposite-field event last year, but he also has two other tour wins. Clearly, Piercy should be a consideration in all formats, especially when his mediocre putting can be masked.

Sergio Garcia

Oh, Sergio. What can we say about Garcia that we haven't before, and will likely say again. He comes close often and with good reason: He's among the best golfers in the world. But unlike Johnson now, Garcia hasn't been able to overcome what's in his head. For gamers, however, that's okay, as a top-five in a major will do very nicely, thank you.

Branden Grace

Here's a prediction: The South African will be very highly owned at next year's Open. After tying for fourth last year at Chambers Bay, Grace tied for fifth at Oakmont. Clearly, he has the right game for Open courses, and he really has an all-course resume, steady in every part of his game. Grace followed up last year at the U.S. Open with great efforts in the Open Championship (T20) and PGA Championship (3), so don't lose sight of that going forward.

Kevin Na

After beginning 2015-16 like gangbusters, with top-threes in four of his first six starts, Na has dropped back. Of course, who could sustain that pace? But the very steady Na hadn't been very steady since then. Na often plays well at the U.S. Open, and he was solo seventh at Oakmont. The thing is, he did it in uncharacteristic fashion, by finishing first in strokes gained: putting. That's normally a weak point of Na's game.

Jason Day

An opening 76 doomed the world No. 1, who still rallied onto the first page of the leaderboard with a four-way tie for eighth. Of the aforementioned and former Big 3, Day is the only one whose game is in the right place to win majors right now, and he surely has to feel good about his chances at the Open Championship, which starts at Royal Troon in less than four weeks.

Jordan Spieth

Spieth finished with a 75 to tie for 37th in defense of his Open victory. Winning five titles a season, as he did last year, clearly wasn't sustainable. But Spieth's game off the tee has been problematic and, until he figures it out, he won't be a factor in the big events. Great putting can net him a win in a weak field at Colonial, but that's about as far as it can take him by itself.

Rory McIlroy

After entering the week with such high hopes, this was a brutal setback for the Northern Irishman, who isn't even in the Big 3 anymore, figuratively or literally. Despite opening with a 77, McIlroy was in line to make the cut until doubling his final hole on Friday. Along with winning the Irish Open last month, McIlroy was also fourth at the Memorial, 12th at The Players, fourth at Wells Fargo, 10th at the Masters and third at the WGC-Cadillac. Awesome numbers – except for a guy with four majors angling to return to No. 1 in the world.

Phil Mickelson

Oh, Phil. Coming off a T2 in Memphis, yes, Mickelson felt good about his game. Which is always the kiss of death for him. (Note to gamers: When Phil feels good about his game, go the other way.) Mickelson shot 74-73 to miss the cut at 7-over, and he's now MCed at the Masters, The Players and the U.S. Open. Yes, he's top-20 in the world and in the point standings, but those are clearly misleading numbers.

Rickie Fowler

Just stop. Not Big 3, not Big 4, not even Big 5. Fowler has fallen to sixth in the world. But, in reality, his game is nowhere close to that. He's also missed the cut at the Masters, The Players and the Open after a 76-75 trunk slam at Oakmont. Oh, and get this: Fowler has dropped to eighth in the Ryder Cup points standings – the final automatic berth. If he continues his summer swoon, could he even be a captain's pick?