Dustin Johnson is now not only World No.1, but also a Masters champion too. His finishing score of -20 was a tournament record, made even sweeter by the fact that his brother Andy was on the bag, to enjoy his victory together. The world’s top-ranked golfer finally came through to win his second-ever major, carding a fourth-round score of 4-under 68 to take home his first green jacket. He finished the 2020 Masters at 20 under, a tournament record; that is two strokes better than the previous tournament record, set by Tiger Woods in 1997 and tied by Jordan Spieth in 2015.
Johnson also set a Masters record by recording only four bogeys, the fewest ever by a Masters champion.
Cameron Smith and SJ Im tried to catch Johnson on Sunday, and at one stage they got to within 2 shots of his lead, however, Johnson went on to have a good back nine to win his first green jacket.
Fifty-three players finished the first round of the 84th Masters Tournament under par. The field scoring average of 71.41 was the lowest ever in an opening round at Augusta National.
Dustin Johnson and Dylan Frittelli closed out 7-under 65s on Friday morning to tie Paul Casey atop the leaderboard. Justin Thomas and Sungjae Im also completed their first rounds on Friday, both carding 6-under 66.
Lowest Scores
It was Johnson’s lowest score in 35 career rounds at the Masters, and his first without a bogey. Thomas’ 66 was also a career best in 17 Masters rounds, and his lowest opening-18 number by seven strokes.
The total amount of players who broke par is a first-round record, as well, surpassing the previous mark of 38 in 2009, according to statistician Justin Ray.
Jack Nicklaus Said Augusta in November was “too easy”
The six-time Masters winner took to social media on Thursday, after the opening round was suspended following the domino-effect of a lengthy morning weather suspension, to voice his displeasure in the low scoring.
“In today’s first round of @TheMasters what little bit of golf I saw after the rain was like throwing darts. There was no wind to speak of, the greens had no fire in them, and everywhere the ball hit just stopped. That is hardly Augusta National at its finest or most challenging.”
His comments were backed up by the fact the total amount of players who broke par is a first-round record, as well, surpassing the previous mark of 38 in 2009, according to statistician Justin Ray. However, many of us golf addicts around the World still managed to get our fix watching the dramas unfold on TV.
Perhaps the big story was how Bryson Dechambeau, the pre-tournament hot favorite, managed to miss so many fairways and putts, and barely made the cut!
Johnson’s winning purse was just over US$2million, with Brother Andy becoming the highest-paid caddy this year.
The 84th Masters purse was so impressive that the third-place finisher would receive as much as the entire field did when Jack Nicklaus won the 1986 Masters.
In fact, even those that missed the cut received US$10,000, but I am sure they all would have preferred no cash, just a green jacket. Good to see brothers Johnson showing some real-time emotion!
Two winners at Augusta.
