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AUGUSTA, Georgia – Do you know what your perception of Dustin Johnson was?
Drop.
You thought Johnson was so cold that nothing affects him, win or lose. That he cares so little that wins are ho-hum and losses don’t bother him. That he’s so talented that he’s never really had to work very hard. That he is so numb that he has no emotion.
If those were your perceptions of Johnson, I hope you watched the green jacket winner ceremony at Augusta National’s green practice on Sunday afternoon after Johnson won the Masters for the first time. times.
As cool, calm, collected and bordering on catatonic as he appeared on the golf course, dusting his closest competitors with five strokes and posting a tournament record by 20 cents, Johnson was an emotional mess seeing himself award the green jacket.
With the practice green surrounded by around 400 people, including tournament officials, Augusta members, player families and the media, Johnson was interviewed by CBS’s Amanda Balionis and he cried.
Yes, cried Dustin Johnson.
He had to stop several times to pull himself together as he tried to answer Balionis’ questions.
“It’s a dream come true… as a kid I always dreamed of being a Masters champion,” said Johnson.
He looked at his fiancée, Paulina Gretzky, his brother and caddy, Austin, his trainer, Claude Harmon III, and a few other members of his team and Johnson froze. He couldn’t speak.
“I’m sorry,” Johnson said, stopping again. “I can’t even speak. I have never had such a hard time coming together. ”
Players who have spent the day chasing Johnson to no avail only wish he had such a hard time birdies and pars.
It might seem like sacrilege, especially to the golf junkies in the room (of which I am one), but look at the way Johnson reacted to the fact that that 42-long green jacket was slipped over his shoulders by the 2019 champion. Tiger Woods was more compelling theater than watching him win.
The CBS interview was over now, Johnson was in Paulina’s arms and as the rally around the putting green dispersed, one of the Augusta National members in his green jacket hung up to say to another: “They are all human. ‘
That’s the problem with Johnson. Apart from those closest to him, the human is the last thing most of us consider him to be. Because he’s so ridiculously talented and the vibe he gives off screams indifference.
“He doesn’t baton me, curse me, and do none of that, and that’s just because he’s a class act,” said Austin, Johnson’s younger brother and younger brother. “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. The guy cares more than anyone. I think just because we’re southerners, laid back and talk a bit slow, everyone thinks we don’t really care. ”
The Johnson brothers grew up an hour from the gates of Augusta National in Irma, SC, and hit balls way beyond the dark at a place called Weed Hill Driving Range and every putt they rolled on the practice green was to win an imaginary Masters.
“There were lights on the stove, and most nights I would turn the lights off when I left,” Johnson recalls.
Now all these years later the brothers were together on the 18th green at Augusta National and Dustin had just hit for par and victory and went straight to his brother and hugged him, Austin wiping away his tears. .
“Yeah, I was trying to hold them back, but it was tough,” Austin said. “He’s the one we dreamed of growing up just down the road. I remember being on the green late at night and every putt was to win the Masters. ”
Dustin called it “amazing to have my brother on my bag,” adding, “I love having all these moments with him. I wouldn’t want it any other way. ”
How was Dustin Sunday morning with a four-stroke lead in the final round?
“He’s still pretty much the same DJ – laid back, pretty calm,” Austin said. “You can’t tell if we’re reaching a major stadium or if we’re lying on the couch watching football by its reactions.
“He seemed really focused this morning. He had his mind set on what he wanted to do and it didn’t seem like anything was going to stop him from doing it. ”
Nothing did.
Until the end of the tournament and he was asked to put it into words.
“It means so much to me… it means so much to my family, Paulina, the kids,” Johnson said. “They know it’s something I’ve always dreamed of and that’s why I work so hard. To make the dream finally come true, I think that’s why you see all this emotion. ”
All those years in a Hall of Fame career, and it took a Masters victory to open our eyes to who Dustin Johnson really is.
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