Read up on Dustin Johnson's Sudden Death victory over Jordan Spieth at the Northern Trust in this week's Monday Morning Caddy.
Dustin Wins in Showdown at the Northern Trust
Two of golf’s greats took it to a playoff on Sunday at the Northern Trust, but in the end it was Dustin Johnson, who hit a monster of a drive on the first playoff hole, who bested Jordan Spieth for the win. Going into the final round, DJ was back by five strokes and it looked very much like it was going to be Jordan’s day again. However, DJ put on a stunning show and forced a sudden death playoff on hole 18 when he dropped an 18-foot putt to take the round to overtime.
This victory marked Dustin Johnson’s first win since he wrenched his back falling down the stairs earlier this year. That spill forced him to withdraw from the Masters. It’s nice to see DJ back in winning form and adding some drama to a tournament that Spieth would have had locked up.
Bonus: Watch DJ’s Insane Drive on the Playoff Hole to Set up his Birdie
Hole 18 at the Northern Trust presented two of golf’s best with some interesting option. The hole is a 467-yard Par 4 dogleg left with water on the lefthand side. Most golfers opt to take a line straight up the fairway – laying up so that they can set up for an approach shot of around 170 yards. It’s the safe thing to do since you have to have massive distance to take an aggressive line over the water. It’s what Jordan Spieth did during the sudden death playoff.
Dustin Johnson however opted for the more aggressive approach and took a line straight over the water. The result is that he had a 92-yard approach while Jordan had 174 yards still to contend with. DJ stuck his shot to 4 feet while Jordan had a much longer, more challenging putt. Sometimes it pays to go for it!
Check out their insanely different lines here:
Has @DJohnsonPGA ever played a more perfect hole than that playoff birdie? pic.twitter.com/9gUOrTINTB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 27, 2017
