This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
When you think about it, Dustin Johnson faced a pretty daunting task in his first start as the top-ranked golfer in the world. Not only was there the pressure of being No. 1, but he immediately found himself in one of the biggest events of the year and alongside his closest pursuers, one of whom could've quickly supplanted him.
All Johnson did was cement his No. 1 standing, winning the inaugural WGC-Mexico Championship by one shot over England's Tommy Fleetwood on Sunday. He became the fifth golfer to win his debut atop the rankings, and only Ian Woosnam in 1991 did it on a larger and more pressure-filled stage. Woosnam captured the Masters, something Johnson will try to do in a month. He's now the Augusta favorite, thanks to his victory at the splendid Club de Golf Chapultepec.
Chapultepec got rave reviews and showed that short courses can still get the best of today's mammoth hitters. Johnson of course is among the longest, but his score was only 14-under on a 7,330-yard track that played more like 6,500 allowing for the high elevation of Mexico City.
When Johnson hit his first shot as No. 1 on Thursday morning he did so standing next to No. 3 Rory McIlroy, who could've wrested the No. 1 ranking with a win, and No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama, the hottest golfer in the world the past six months. On Sunday, he caught playing partner Justin Thomas, No. 7 in the world and already a three-time
When you think about it, Dustin Johnson faced a pretty daunting task in his first start as the top-ranked golfer in the world. Not only was there the pressure of being No. 1, but he immediately found himself in one of the biggest events of the year and alongside his closest pursuers, one of whom could've quickly supplanted him.
All Johnson did was cement his No. 1 standing, winning the inaugural WGC-Mexico Championship by one shot over England's Tommy Fleetwood on Sunday. He became the fifth golfer to win his debut atop the rankings, and only Ian Woosnam in 1991 did it on a larger and more pressure-filled stage. Woosnam captured the Masters, something Johnson will try to do in a month. He's now the Augusta favorite, thanks to his victory at the splendid Club de Golf Chapultepec.
Chapultepec got rave reviews and showed that short courses can still get the best of today's mammoth hitters. Johnson of course is among the longest, but his score was only 14-under on a 7,330-yard track that played more like 6,500 allowing for the high elevation of Mexico City.
When Johnson hit his first shot as No. 1 on Thursday morning he did so standing next to No. 3 Rory McIlroy, who could've wrested the No. 1 ranking with a win, and No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama, the hottest golfer in the world the past six months. On Sunday, he caught playing partner Justin Thomas, No. 7 in the world and already a three-time winner this season. McIlroy was also in the final group, and all week he got a first-hand look at how daunting it will be to catch Johnson.
Yes, Johnson took on all comers in the elite 77-man field, save No. 2 Jason Day, who withdrew with an ear infection before the tournament but in reality isn't playing anywhere near as well as his ranking.
In fact, Johnson's sternest challenge came from the game's fastest rising star, Jon Rahm. Johnson had a four-shot lead at No. 10 on Sunday but two holes later the margin was cut in half, and two holes after that, he and Rahm were tied. It was a momentary stumble by Johnson, and it was rectified when Rahm became the final challenger to falter, three-putting both 16 and 17 for bogeys.
What, just a few weeks back, looked like mad scramble for the top-ranking among five or six golfers now looks like a fight for second best.
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Tommy Fleetwood
The Englishman is on a roll and has put himself on the radar for the upcoming WGC-Match Play and even the Masters. Fleetwood began 2017 as No. 99 in the world and began the week at No. 55 but now is up to a career-best No. 35. His rise was fueled by a win in Abu Dhabi in January – by one shot over Johnson. American golf fans may recall Fleetwood from the 2015 Match Play, where he finished T5 by taking down Sergio Garcia and Brendan Grace, among others.
Jon Rahm
Rahm's 2017 surge is even more impressive than Fleetwood's, beginning at 137th but now standing at a career-best 25th. After tying Johnson for the lead on the back nine, a couple of late three-putts relegated Rahm to a tie for third with Ross Fisher. DraftKings tabbed him at $9,000, but you have to think that Rahm now has been elevated to the $10,000 stratosphere for the Match Play and Masters ahead.
Ross Fisher
Fisher jumped to No. 55 in the world, but unlike Fleetwood and Rahm, his career is not on the rise. A long time ago, the Englishman was a top-20 golfer – 2009-10, to be precise. At age 36, this showing came out of the blue. The result assured Fisher of qualifying for the Match Play in three weeks, but he's still on the outside of the Masters field. No matter, he really shouldn't be a consideration for a repeat performance anytime soon.
Phil Mickelson
We really liked Mickelson a lot entering this week. Not only did the course favor him for a variety of reasons, but his price was finally right. Mickelson had been in the high $8,000s even the $9,000s on DraftKings, but for the WGC he was $7,600, and we pounced on that. Mickelson thrilled us all week, and he wound up tied for seventh. We surely would like him to stay at that price, but he will be elevated for the Masters.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy certainly exceeded our expectations after month-plus layoff with a rib injury. But a tie for seventh bodes well for him the rest of the season. A major win surely is a possibility, but the thing is, it's such a crowded field at the top that it's far from a certainty. McIlroy won the Match Play two years ago, so it would be no surprise for him to win there in three weeks. But a WGC is not a major.
Brandt Snedeker
Many fantasy golf gamers live and die on every hole, beginning on Thursday morning. Snedeker is Exhibit A why that's not only unnecessarily stressful but silly. Snedeker had four bogeys in his first nine holes en route to a 4-over 75 and appeared to be out of it. But then he shot 68-66-65 to tie for seventh and, with all those birdies, was one of the top DraftKings scorers at 103.5 (even more than T3 Rahm). And also a bargain at $7,600.
Lee Westwood
For a long while, Westwood was looking like a steal as one of our long-shot picks. But after missing a birdie putt to tie for the lead on the fifth hole on Sunday, Westwood imploded with four double bogeys in six holes. He wound up with a 7-over 78 to tie for 28th. Westwood's best days are surely behind him but don't dismiss him entirely. Remember, he tied for second at the Masters last year and could be a terrific long-shot play again.
Gary Woodland
Woodland was a hot pick coming into the week, having played really well – and putting superbly – the past couple of months. But his T38 finish showed what happens when decent golfers move up in class. Woodland may do well at the Match Play, which suits his game, but we're not so high on him in other strong fields.
Brendan Steele
See the above paragraph. Steele was going gangbusters all season, but regular tournaments with mediocre fields are not WGCs with the world's best. Steele tied Woodland for 38th. We'll see how he responds to that dose of reality when he tees it up next.
Alex Noren
See the above two paragraphs. Noren entered the week at No. 11 in the world but was never a factor, tying for 55th. He jumped in the OWGR last year on the strength of four European Tour wins. That's nothing to dismiss. On the other hand, they weren't world-class fields. We thought Noren would be a good get at $7,200. We were wrong.
Patrick Reed
Reed's nightmare stretch continued with a T61. He's still 12th in the world, but that's down from No. 8 just two months ago. Reed has only one top-10 since last season's playoffs and that was in the 32-man Tournament of Champions. We've said it often in this space, that Reed played too much during the fall season, and he's paying the price now, just like Jordan Spieth did last year. Reed now heads to the Valspar Championship, where he was T7 last year and T2 the year before. The field will be weak. Let's see how he does. We don't have a lot of faith, however.
RotoWire value picks
Last week: Winner (Fowler), seven top-15s, seven missed cuts.
This week: Winner (Johnson), four top-10s, seven top-25s, one WD.
We made 16 value picks, and of course there was no cut in the tournament. But we still had only 15 finishers thanks to the WD of Henrik Stenson, a development that surely sandbagged many lineups. We said last week that at $12,500, Johnson carried a hefty price and he needed a win to make him pay off. Well, he won. We had only one other golfer in Tier 1, Jordan Spieth, and he tied for 12th. Eh. Tier 2 worked pretty well, with Rahm at $9,000. Justin Rose at T38 didn't pay off, but Sergio Garcia at T12 and Francesco Molinari at T20 were decent. Our Tier 3 was golden, with Mickelson and Snedeker tying for seventh, more than offsetting Rafa Cabrera-Bello (T38), Louis Oosthuizen ((T48) and Noren (T55). With four long-shot picks, Westwood paid off nicely even at T28, a bit better than Bill Haas (T32) and a lot better than the disappointing Bernd Wiesberger (T45). We're embarrassed to have had even a little faith in Danny Willett (solo 69th).
We finished first in our DraftKings cash game for the second time in three weeks, with a lineup of Spieth, Rahm, Mickelson, Snedeker, Haas and Wiesberger totaling 497.5 points.
