default-cbs-image

Dustin Johnson won the WGC-Mexico Championship on Sunday to capture the fourth WGC title of his career.

But before we dive deeper into that, let’s step back a bit to everything that happened leading up to Johnson hoisting that trophy.

Rory McIlroy held the 36-hole lead. Phil Mickelson was the most thrilling player in the field and shot a 68 on Saturday even though he only hit four fairways. Jordan Spieth shot a course-record 63 on Saturday. Justin Thomas made an ace to share the lead late in the tournament. Jon Rahm took a run at the reigning No. 1 golfer in the world with a late-round charge on Sunday. 

Sorry, fellas. Johnson is a thoroughbred among thoroughbreds right now, and he was impossible to catch as he shot a 3-under 68 on Sunday to finish at 14 under overall. Johnson edged Tommy Fleetwood by one and defeated Rahm and Ross Fisher by two.

D.J. is a man among men, a heavyweight among elite prize fighters. He is now turning into an all-time golfer among all-time golfers. On a leaderboard rife with superstars from multiple generations, Johnson turned in a scorecard at the end of the week’s festivities that solidified what the Official World Golf Rankings tell us about him: He is, right now, the best golfer in the world.

Johnson shot 62 on the front nine at this tournament on the weekend: a 31 on Saturday highlighted by a boss eagle on the par-4 first and another 31 on Sunday that included four birdies and zero bogeys. It was flawless. 

Johnson met some trouble at the beginning of the back nine in his final round with a pair of bogeys. That was when Rahm tied him for the lead. A tournament that was under wraps was suddenly very much in question once again.

A birdie on the par-5 15th got him the lead back, and Rahm faded coming in with a pair of bogeys when he needed birdies. Fleetwood also gave it a go with a stellar pair of 66s on the weekend.

The scary part for the field is that Johnson did not finish in the top 25 in strokes gained off the tee. After a 1-under 70 in Round 1, he tightened up his putting and hit his approach shots all week as exquisitely as you would expect the No. 1 player in the world to hit them (he was No. 1 in the field in approach shots).

“It means a lot obviously,” Johnson told NBC’s Steve Sands about winning his first tournament as the No. 1-ranked golfer. “It’s a tough spot to be in. There are a lot of pressures on you. I didn’t feel like I putted my best. I really hit the ball well. I played just well enough, I guess, because I won by one.

“I kept trying to read the putts as best as I could and commit to the lines I was going to pick and make a good stroke.”

For Johnson, it is the 14th PGA Tour win of his career and second straight this season as he also won the Genesis Open. He also moved into solo second on the all-time WGC wins list, just 14 tournaments behind Tiger Woods.

  1. Tiger Woods: 18 WGC wins
  2. Dustin Johnson: 4
  3. Geoff Ogilvy: 3
  4. Everyone else: 2 or fewer

The future, as has always been the case, is limitless for Johnson. The argument of “who’s best is actually the very best” is a Chinese finger trap for golf fans: simultaneously mind-bending and exhausting. It is also largely unsolvable.

We may never know whose “A” game reigns supreme, but what we do know is that Johnson is in the conversation. As the second half of his career unfolds, he has unwittingly become the most consistent winner on the PGA Tour with 10 straight seasons with a win and the last two with multiples.

While Sunday did not prove that his best is the best, it did solidify something we have known for a long time: Dustin Johnson is damn good at this game. Grade: A+

Jordan Spieth (T12): Spieth was very exciting on the weekend, but he dug himself too deep of a hole early on in the tournament. He trailed McIlroy, the 36-hole leader, by 10 strokes at the halfway point and needed a miracle 63-63 weekend to get into a playoff. He got the first 63 but fell short of the second one.

Spieth was below average off the tee (No. 53 in a field of 76), but his short game was monumental. That spells trouble for those hoping to usurp the Masters favorite at Augusta in a month. Grade: B

Rory McIlroy (T7): It was a weird event for McIlroy. After looking like he was going to steal the tournament in the first two days after a two-month stretch of not playing, the 36-hole leader faded a tad on the weekend. He didn’t play poorly, really. He shot 1 under during the final 36 holes. He simply found himself in a situation where he was chased by a handful of the best players in the world, and he did not give himself enough chances to score.

The win for McIlroy this week is that he stayed healthy. In the first half of the season, all that matters for McIlroy is being ready to roll at Augusta. This was a nice first step in that. There was rust (64th in the field in strokes gained around the green, 24th in putting), but that will get worked out as he plays the Arnold Palmer Invitational in a few weeks. Grade: A-

Jon Rahm (T3): Rahm is going to be a big problem for a long time. He showed what he’s made of by swiping the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, and he almost did the same by crashing Johnson’s party on Sunday. The most striking aspect of Rahm’s game is that, at 22 years old, he plays like he’s already put away three majors and made $100 million. In a lot of ways, he plays like the man he’s started playing Tuesday money games with: Phil Mickelson. 

That’s a problem if you’re not blessed with the game Lefty has, but Rahm has talent in spades. He finished second in the field in driving distance and eighth in strokes gained putting. Put those two things together for a long stretch with the way golf is played, and you’re going to have a number of large silver devices to drink from. Grade: A

Phil Mickelson (T7): I want Mickelson to play forever. The man hit 15 greens in regulation on the weekend (out of 36!) and shot 3 under to finish seventh. That can only happen when you finish second in strokes gained around the green and putting. He is a national treasure and had an all-time week in Mexico. Viva la Phil! Grade: A-