DJ Wins the 84th Masters

Dustin Johnson celebrates after capturing the 84th Masters

Augusta, Ga - This was a different Masters, it was one without the buzz

of patrons, it was one without the echoing sounds of birdies and eagles

at Amen corner, it was one without the April azaleas blooming their

vibrant hues of pink and white - but to Dustin Johnson, this November

Masters was the one he had always dreamed of. The one where the 36

year-old native of Columbia, South Carolina would lead the tournament

wire to wire and set the tournament scoring record.

DJ's brilliant 20 under par 268 total eclipsed the previous mark set by

Tiger Woods in '97 and Jordan Spieth in 2015 by two shots. Rounds of

65-70-65-68 routed the field - his closest competitors, SungJae Im and

Cam Smith both fired final round 69's to finish five shots back to finish

at 15 under par (Cam Smith became the first player ever in the history

of the event to shoot all four rounds in the 60's).

In a rare show of emotion, Johnson struggled to speak in his post-round

interview with Amanda Balionis, "There were doubts in my mind, just

because I had been there. I'm in this position a lot of times, like when

am I going to have the lead and finish off the golf tournament or finish

off a major? For me it definitely proved that I can do it."

Johnson had a bit of a rocky start, needing to save par at the reachable

par 5 second, then bouncing back with birdie at the tricky 350 yard third,

then he made consecutive bogeys at two of the toughest holes at Augusta

National - the fourth and fifth. Johnson righted the ship at the par 3 sixth

flushing an 8 iron within 6 feet and pouring in the birdie, followed by a

clutch sand save at the seventh. He played four under par the rest of the

way in, including three birdies in a row beginning on the thirteenth.

The victory was Johnson's 2nd career major (Oakmont U.S Open 2016), and

was his 24th career PGA Tour win tying him with Gary Player. And for those

wondering, his Green Jacket is size 42 long.