Robert Theodorson4 Aces captain Dustin Johnson shot a flawless 67 on moving day at Royal Portrush and is moving on to Championship Sunday at The 153rd Open in T22 Place; 4-under par.
Oddly enough, DJ did not score on the Par 5 2nd and 7th, two holes the field have been taking advantage of throughout the week to bolster their scores.
Fellow LIV golfer Tyrrell Hatton T4 at 8-under par made an incredible pitch shot for eagle on the 7th, sending the Englishman to a score of 8-under par at that point in the tournament.
DJ’s four birdies and lack of errors put him over betting favourites Jon Rahm T34 at 2-under par, Bryson DeChambeau T34; 2-under par, and surprise contenders Lee Westwood T14 5-under par, Marc Leishman T22 4-under par who will go into Sunday tied and possibly paired with DJ for one last trot down the Royal Portrush links.
It’s also been an uncharacteristic season on LIV for Johnson as the two-time major winner has put himself into contention to win in a number of tournaments, but tends to run out of gas on Sundays, putting more distance between himself and his last win in Las Vegas during the 2024 season.
Currently in 22nd place on LIV, DJ has had a handful of Top 10 finishes at Singapore (T5), Mexico City (T7), Virginia (T10), and most recently Andalucia (T7).
Should DJ finish anywhere inside the Top 10, it would be his best finish in a major championship since the 2023 U.S. Open where he finished T10 at LA Country Club.
A Top 5 finish would signal a return to form of sorts as it would be Johnson’s best finish since his T2 at the 2020 PGA Championship, the same year he won The Masters and set the course record at Augusta for best cumulative score.
To win it all, DJ will need another vintage DJ round, and a little help down the stretch, to take down Scottie Scheffler who looks primed to take the third leg of his own career grand slam.
Still, a big finish from one of golf’s favourite sons would go a long way to building back towards being a regular competitor at these majors that we all love so much.
