Can Dustin Johnson Be a Great One, too?

Dustin Johnson's challenge, once he officially joins the Family Gretzky, is whether he eventually will be identified the way the family patriarch is, whether he can be a great one, too.

Johnson, 29, already is better than most, the latest evidence coming in the dead of night in the U.S. He won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China, by three strokes overnight, prevailing over a top 10 that included Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell.

The victory was his eighth on the PGA Tour and extended the number of seasons in which he has won to seven (the HSBC Champions is part of the 2014 schedule), winning in each year of his PGA Tour career.

The statistic is impressive on the surface, portending superstar status, but is marginally less so beneath it. He began the week 23rd in the World Ranking, a number based on performance. If talent were the measure, Johnson would be a fixture in the top 10. His is still potential not entirely fulfilled.

Johnson, who is engaged to Wayne Gretzky's daughter Paulina, tends to drift in and out of greatness, as he did at the outset of 2013. He won the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, then played seven straight tournaments without finishing in the top 10, missing the cut in two and withdrawing from a third.

The pattern was evident in Shanghai, too. He had six birdies in seven-hole stretches in rounds two and three, including five straight birdies in the latter, when he opened a six-stroke lead. Then he hit his tee shot into the water at 18, eventually cutting his lead in half.

In the final round, his indifferent play on the front nine invited all comers into the mix, one of them, Poulter, joining him atop the leaderboard. He was toying with them, as it were. He found another gear, and played a five-hole stretch in five-under par, including a pitch-in eagle at 16 and a birdie at 17 to coast into the winner's circle.

It is the stuff of legend, or would be were it to occur at more frequent intervals. If Johnson ever inserts consistency into his repertoire, major championships might begin to creep onto his resume. But they're not won with the flick of an on-off switch.

The tandem of maturity and patience should help. "It takes a lot to learn that," Johnson said. "I wish I would have had some of that a few times a few years ago."

It was evident on Sunday, when the lead slipped away momentarily. "I was swinging well and putting well," he said. "I knew if I stuck to my game plan and played the course how I wanted to play it it was going to come.

"This is probably my biggest win, with the field and the tournament, a World Golf Championship. Hopefully, it's better things to come."

The key for Johnson is to emulate his future father-in-law, the Great One, and bring it every night, or in Johnson's case, every week. If he can beat this kind of field this handily, greatness seems destined to follow.

Dustin Johnson Holds on to Lead

 

       SHANGHAI -- Dustin Johnson started with a five-shot lead and made 10 birdies. Two swings kept him from running away from the field Saturday in the HSBC Champions.

       The only consolation was a 6-under 66, which gave Johnson a three-shot lead over defending champion Ian Poulter going into the final round of this World Golf Championship. It was the final hole -- a three-shot swing -- that irritated the 29-year-old American.

       On a Sheshan International course set up for low scoring, Poulter made birdie on the par-5 18th for a 63. Three groups later, Johnson hit a bad drive at the worst time and watched it sail to the right and into the lake. Wanting to be sure he didn't drop it in the wrong spot, Johnson returned to the tee and wound up with a double bogey.

It was his second double bogey of an otherwise remarkable round.

        After making five straight birdies to start to pull away, Johnson saw his wedge roll back down the hill three times before the fourth one hit the pin at No. 10. He still had to make about a 12-foot putt to escape with double bogey.

       Johnson was at 18-under 198 and will be in the final group with Poulter and Graeme McDowell, who had a 64 and was four shots behind.

      "I have to do my thing tomorrow," Poulter said. "It's only Saturday. You can't win tournaments on Saturday. It's all about playing well on Sunday. I need to do that. I need to make plenty of birdies, try to make an eagle. If I can, I can get close."

       Rory McIlroy birdied three of his last five holes for a 67 and was six shots behind, along with Graham DeLaet and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, who each had a 65.

       They still had an outside chance, though so much of that depends on Johnson and how to he responds to his pair of double bogeys.

       "I'm still a little mad from my double bogey on 18," Johnson said. "Obviously, to have a three-shot lead going into the last day is good and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I still have to play really well. The guys that are right behind me, they're playing very well, too. So it's still going to be a tough day tomorrow. Got to come out and make a lot of birdies."

That wasn't the problem -- for Johnson and most everyone else.

      Martin Kaymer, who won the HSBC Champions two years ago by tying the course record with a 63 in the final round, went one better. The German started with six birdies in seven holes and thought briefly about a 59 with three straight birdies on the front nine that put him at 10-under with three to play. He missed an 8-foot birdie on No. 7, failed to birdie the par-5 eighth and had to settle for a course record 62.

Kaymer was eight shots behind.

       "I've shot 59 before and I thought, `There's a chance,' especially after my birdies on 4, 5, 6," Kaymer said. "But you can't make them all."

      McDowell was six shots out of the lead when he finished, exasperated that he could shoot 64 and not make up any ground. Even so, he has a lot at stake on Sunday at No. 2 on the European Tour money list, and he could move past Henrik Stenson to finish alone in second.

     "From here, it looks like Dustin is going to have to beat himself for anybody to have a chance to catch him," McDowell said. "Race to Dubai points will be very important to me. I have a lot to play for tomorrow. If not the trophy, second place will certainly be worth my while."

And then, the trophy became a little more realistic.

       Johnson looked unstoppable on the front nine with six birdies in seven holes, and he pounded his drive down the left side of the 10th that just crawled into the rough. He was trying to land beyond the flag, but his wedge came out dead and rolled back down the hill.

"Didn't hit the first one hard enough. Didn't hit the second one hard enough," Johnson said. "I think I hit the third one hard enough to get there."

       His lead was down to one shot on the back nine until Poulter made bogey on the 17th, and Johnson went on another tear -- a 5-iron into 15 feet for a two-putt birdie on the 14th, another 3-iron on the par-4 16th that set up a chip-and-putt birdie.

And then came that one swing at No. 18.

      Johnson, with a remarkable talent for being undaunted by a shot into the water, reloaded and hit a hard draw down the right edge of the water that found the fairway. Any chance of escaping with bogey, maybe even par, ended when his approach went into the bunker near a lip. He blasted out to 15 feet and took two putts for his 7.

Johnson had to be reminded that he still shot 66. He still had a three-shot lead.

    "It's a good score," he said. "I'm definitely happy with what I shot. I'm just not happy with the way I finished. Making two doubles, there's no excuse for that, especially the way I'm playing right now."

Dustin Johnson Rockets Into the Lead in Shanghai

    

  

          American Dustin Johnson has fired a course record to rocket into the lead at the WGC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
          The American fired six birdies in his first seven holes on his way to a nine-under par second round of 63 that's seen him jump to 12-under overall.

He's a massive five shots clear of a three-way tie for second including compatriots Boo Weekley and Bubba Watson and overnight leader Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy is at seven-under after he failed to capitalise on his opening round.

Johnson says he would have never seen that round coming.

       "When I played the course on Wednesday I didn't make one birdie. I hit it okay, I just didn't make any putts."

He says it was one of his better rounds.

"I hit one bad drive on 18 but got away with it. That's really by far the worst shot I hit all day and I still ended up making birdie."

        Mark Brown is the best of the Kiwis at four-under in a tie for 18th with Michael Hendry well back at one-over.

Simon Dyson Faces Disciplinary Hearing for Rules Violation at BMW Masters

Published: Thursday, October 31, 2013 | 11:04:36 AM  

       VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) -- Simon Dyson faces a disciplinary hearing over his disqualification for a rules violation at the BMW Masters.

       Dyson was marking his golf ball on the eighth green at Lake Malaren when he used the ball to tamp down the green in the direct line of his short par putt. It was a clear violation of Rule 16-1a, which says that a player cannot touch the line of his putt.

        Under tour policy, a player faces a disciplinary hearing if it is determined that a serious breach may have occurred. The hearing will be before a panel of an independent lawyer, a former European Tour player or Senior Tour player, and a sports administrator.

If found guilty of a breach, punishment ranges from a reprimand to a fine or a suspension.

Senior Leads Charles Schwab Cup Finale

Published: Thursday, October 31, 2013 | 07:20:06 PM

        SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Peter Senior is a big winner in Australia. He'd like at least one win in the United States.

         He got off to a good start Thursday in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, shooting an 8-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour's season-ending event.

        The 54-year-old Senior had nine birdies, an eagle and three bogeys at TPC Harding Park to match the event first-round record set by Jim Thorpe in his 2003 victory at Sonoma Golf Club.

        "That was probably the best round of golf I've played this year," Senior said. "I putted well and hit it well."

        Senior won the Australian Open last year for his 19th PGA Tour of Australasia victory. He's seeking his first Champions Tour title after finishing second five times - including three playoff losses - in 93 career starts.

       "That's the only disappointing thing," Senior said. "It's such a great tour and I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's a little disappointing I haven't won in four years. You've got to be fortunate at the right times and I haven't done enough down the stretch, going par, par, par when I needed a birdie to make the difference. Hopefully, it might happen."

         David Frost shot 64, missing a short putt on the 18th hole. Fred Couples was third at 65, and Mark O'Meara had a 66. Bernhard Langer, Steve Elkington and Duffy Waldorf shot 67.

       Charles Schwab Cup points leader Kenny Perry topped the group at 68. Perry entered the event 612 points ahead of second-place Langer. If Langer wins the tournament, Perry needs only to finish fifth or better take the season title and $1 million annuity.

       Senior shot a 6-under 30 on the front nine, culminating with an eagle on the ninth hole. He birdied Nos. 11 and 12 and allowed himself to start thinking big.

        "I started counting the easy holes that I could possibly birdie," he said. "As soon as I thought that, I made a bogey." "

       Frost has two victories season, including his first senior major victory at the Regions Tradition in June.

      "It was nice to get off to a good start," Frost said. "You want to get excited but there's so much golf left to play you can't get ahead of yourself because of a couple of early birdies.

       "I think I've had a great year. I didn't drive the ball as well as I should have and that's something that has held me back. I'm not too disappointed. I'm happy to have played solid golf and here is like a tournament within a tournament. There's no reason I should not focus on the task at hand."

Couples is dealing with neck and back issues. He had a double bogey on the eighth hole.

       "I hit what I thought was as good a shot as I could and no way could it stay on the green," Couples said. "I kind of fluffed a pretty difficult chip to about 5 feet and missed it, so that was that."

Couples had nine birdies, three immediately before his double bogey and two immediately following.

Mickelson Drops Five Shots in Final Two Holes

Oh, Phil Mickelson. Will it ever be easy?

           Mickelson was 6 under par, one shot off the lead, through 16 holes in Round 1 of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China. He finished six back after a 1-under 71.
        After starting on the 10th, and collecting six birdies to no bogeys, Mickelson hit his third shot – with a wedge – into the water guarding the green at the par-5 eighth. After a drop, he hit his fifth shot – another wedge – onto the green, but it spun back, past the flag and into the water. He made a quadruple bogey-nine.

Did Brandel Chamblee Make Things Any Better in Latest Apology to Tiger Woods?

                                                               

          Brandel Chamblee has issued a second apology to Tiger Woods. Now we wait to see if golf's biggest name will accept.

         Chamblee appeared on Golf Channel's Golf Central Wednesday evening with Rich Lerner, and while the analyst spoke openly about his now-famous Golf.com column, he didn't sound very, well, apologetic. In the column, Chamblee insinuated Woods cheated during 2013 and gave him an 'F' for his season. Lerner began the talk by asking if Chamblee, after having time to reflect, would do anything different. Related: Tiger's long list of enemies "A few things. In offering my assessment of Tiger's year and specifically looking at the incidents . . . I said Tiger Woods was cavalier about the rules. and I should have stopped right there," Chamblee said. "In comparing those incidents to my cheating episode in fourth grade, I went too far. Now I know what my intent was on that test in fourth grade math test, but there's no way I could know with 100 percent certainty what Tiger's intent was in any of those incidents. That was my mistake." Lerner then asked, "Do you have a vendetta against Tiger Woods?" "Of course not," Chamblee said. "My job as an analyst at Golf Channel requires me to analyze the golf and offer my opinions. I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it. Tiger is the best player in the game by miles.

          Maybe the best player of all time. And over the years, I have said a lot of positive things about Tiger's swing and his accomplishments and at times I've been critical, but that's my job and my obligation to the viewer. To not only talk about Tiger when he plays well, but when he doesn't play well and put in perspective as well as every other player. "Now at times, I can be a bit forceful with my opinions and some would say too forceful too many times. Fair enough. That was obviously the case in this instance." Chamblee said that it was his son telling him he should have been "more diplomatic" that prompted him to issue his first apology on Twitter on October 21. He also pointed out that the column appeared on Golf.com and that "no one at Golf Channel knew about it." Woods stated on Monday that it was up to the TV network to take the next step in addressing this issue. Chamblee said his editor at Golf.com asked him to rewrite the end of his column when he initially sent it in, but that Chamblee didn't listen and now he wishes he had. Chamblee also announced he will no longer write for Golf Magazine, but only for GolfChannel.com and NBCSports.com. "That way, if Tiger and his camp have an issue with something I write, they can at least be yelling at the right people."

          The segment lasted four minutes before Chamblee and Lerner moved on to discuss other golf news. It will be interesting to see if Woods and his camp will move on from the issue, especially considering Chamblee's last comment and the fact that Chamblee technically didn't say he was sorry. Is it possible Chamblee didn't make things any better in this feud on Wednesday night? More incredibly, is it possible he made things worse? Stay tuned.