The world’s best player, Dustin Johnson, has laid down a marker by describing his confidence level as 9.5 out of 10 ahead of The Masters.
Johnson was in the form of his life 12 months ago but was cruelly denied a run at a first Green Jacket after suffering a freak injury on the eve of the tournament.
A year has passed and a lot has happened but DJ admits the accident is still the talk of the town.
‘I get asked about it every day out here on the range or walking down the fairway so I’m reminded all the time. So, yeah, I definitely was thinking about it,’ said Johnson, confirming that he will be taking it easy this time around, after the fall last year that derailed what was shaping up to be one of golf’s best ever seasons.
Johnson was forced to hobble out of the equation after arriving at Augusta on the back of three straight wins.
‘Coming into last year, obviously I was playing very well and it was very disappointing not to be able to play, but it was a year ago, so a lot of things have happened since then,’ said Johnson.
‘And this year’s a completely different year, and I’m really looking forward to coming into this year, especially [after] missing last year.
‘I’m always excited to come back here and play. I feel like the game is in really good shape and I’ve got a lot of confidence coming into here this week. Last year I was about as confident as I’ve ever been, so it was probably a 10. This year it’s probably a nine and a half.’
Johnson, off in Thursday’s final tee time, has one win and a runner-up finish and two top 10s in six starts in 2018.
Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images
