"I could barely reach the par-4s, same with Brooks Koepka"- Dustin Johnson confesses LIV Golfers' woes at the 2024 Open Championship
Like the entire field of the 2024 Open Championship, Dustin Johnson has experienced the rigors of Royal Troon. Johnson shot a 1-over third round and claimed to have played "really good golf".
After finishing his round on Saturday, Dustin Johnson took questions from the press covering the event. The topic of how challenging the course is proving to be was one of the most common themes in his comments.
Here's what Dustin Johnson had to say (via ASAP Sports):
"I felt like I played really, really good golf, and I shot 1-over...The back nine, that's the hardest nine holes I think you could ever play in golf right now, into the wind and rain, I mean, it's so long I could barely reach the par-4s. I had to smash 2 to get there, same with Brooks [Koepka]. That's how long it was playing."
Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka played in the same group during the third round of the 2024 Open Championship. Koepka shot 7-over for the round and dropped 49 spots on the leaderboard.
Koepka's problems came on the back nine, where he made his five bogeys of the day. He had previously double-bogeyed the 4th. Koepka had no birdies in the third round.
A look at Dustin Johnson's performance at the 2024 Open Championship
Dustin Johnson started his first round at the 2024 Open Championship with one birdie and four bogeys (3-over). He finished the front nine at even par but carded three of the round's four bogeys on the back nine.
On Friday, Johnson was able to work better on the back nine at Royal Troon. He carded three birdies and two bogeys on the first nine, then carded an eagle, a birdie and two bogeys on the back nine.
He finished at 2-under for the round. Johnson parred the first 13 holes of the third round despite adverse weather conditions. He birdied the 14th and made two consecutive pars, but double-bogeyed the 17th to finish 1 over for the round.
His 54-hole score is 2-over, and he is tied for 15th place, six shots behind leader Billy Horschel.
Johnson has played in 14 editions of The Open Championship, making 11 over cuts. He has five top-10s, and his best finish was a tie for second in 2011. His record in major championships includes 60 appearances with 47 cuts.
He has finished in the top 10 23 times, and his best finish was winning the 2020 Masters Tournament and the 2016 U.S. Open.
Johnson also has five runner-up finishes (The Open 2011, US Open 2015, The Masters 2019, PGA Championship 2019 and PGA Championship 2020).
His professional career began in 2007 and includes 31 wins, including 24 on the PGA Tour and three on LIV Golf.