GolfPlus Aug 2018 Digital Edition (August 2018) | Page 39

COVER FEATURE
HOW DJ HAS IMPROVED...
STROKES GAINED PER ROUND 100-150 YDS
2015 2016 2017
0.09 0.19 0.35
APPROACHES FROM 50-125 YDS
2015
2016
2017
T53 T4 T15
(17ft 8in) (16ft) (17ft 5in)
PROXIMITY TO HOLE WITH HIS WEDGES (FEET)
Charting the last fi ve years of Dustin Johnson’s
performance at diff erent distances inside 125
yards, this graphic gives a clear picture of just
how much progress he has made with his wedge
game. DJ has improved in each parameter, hitting
the ball on average three feet closer than he did in
2012 – a massive change at this level of the
game. But these fi gures also help us understand
how sharper pitching has contributed to his rise to
the top. In 2012, when his average of 20ft 5in
from 50-125 yards placed him 166th in this
category on the PGA Tour, his offi cial world
ranking was 23. By the close of 2016, when his
high point of 16ft moved him up to 4th in the
stats, he was ranked 3rd in the world. While his
fi gures since the have softened slightly, his 17ft
5in average ensured he fi nished the year as the
world’s best golfer.
GolfPlus
AUGUST
2018
47