In the year of COVID-19, it’s only fitting that the 2020 Masters was dominated by a coronavirus survivor.
Dustin Johnson spent 11 days holed up in a Las Vegas hotel room after testing positive for COVID-19 on October 11 – one month before the Masters started. He never left the room to pick up food, much less a golf club to practice. The most he moved was to take a shower. DJ Netflix-and-chilled to “Yellowstone” with a sense of peace.
“I knew there was no chance of me missing the Masters,” he said.
“Granted, you sit in the hotel room for two weeks, it doesn’t do a lot for the golf game.”
The way he’s played since the PGA Tour’s coronavirus reboot, the best thing he could do with his golf game was get out of his own way. He did, and the result was a record-setting 20-under-par score of 268 at Augusta to cap off a 2020 major season like no other.
It was enough to make even DJ cry. And getting through this COVID-19 season with a trio of major championships completed is worth reflecting on some of the major highs and lows:
BIRDIE: Dustin Johnson – The dude finished first, second and sixth with a cumulative score of 26-under par in three majors. Unequivocally the No. 1 player in the world, now green-jacket certified.
BOGEY: Rory McIlroy – All-too-familiar story of missed opportunity. A non-factor at the PGA, he teased early at Winged Foot only to blow it Friday then immediately spit the bit at Augusta with his opening 75 in the lowest scoring round in Masters history before going 14 under the rest of the way for backdoor top-5. Sigh.
BIRDIE: Bryson DeChambeau – Proved naysayers wrong and emphatically validated his unique physical/technical transformation with a U.S. Open romp. The only player to shoot under par in every major, he posted a cumulative 18-under total that was second only to DJ.
BOGEY: DeChambeau – His hyped hostile takeover plan at Augusta failed, as did his preparation, tinkering with a driver he didn’t use instead of working on his wedge game. Needs to rethink Augusta course management before April.
BIRDIE: Patrons – You never know what you have until it’s gone. We’ve sure come to appreciate more than ever what fans mean to a major.
BOGEY: TV patrons – Worst Masters ratings since 1957? If you didn’t go digital instead, you missed a darn fine presentation and a unique opportunity to see Augusta National as never before. Your loss.
BIRDIE: Collin Morikawa – You win your PGA Championship debut in your second major start by hitting the clinching shot of the year to make eagle, it doesn’t really matter what you do the rest of the season.
PAR: Xander Schauffele – True to form with third-best cumulative 11-under total in majors but never really threatened on Sundays to keep him searching for his maiden major.
BOGEY: Justin Thomas – Maybe this is too harsh, but the first-round leader at Winged Foot and second-round co-leader at Augusta should have been more prominent than he was Sunday in both of them.
BOGEY: Patrick Reed – See Thomas above. Reed imploded with 36-hole lead at U.S. Open and plateaued at the same point in contention at Masters. He and Thomas (and Jon Rahm) had the most juice to challenge DJ and they ceded task to a group of kids.
BIRDIE: Cameron Smith – Speaking of kids, this maturing Aussie is growing on us faster than his mullet. First player to ever shoot four rounds in the 60s in Masters (and lost by 5!), his fearless play in vain attempt to keep up with DJ included this physics-defying vertical launch over tree to 10 feet. I stood on the divot. I can’t even.
Over the trees and onto the green. Cameron Smith birdies No. 7 to reach 14 under par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/HPUIa48ews
— The Masters (@TheMasters) November 15, 2020
BOGEY: Tiger Woods – As impressive as his five birdies in six holes after his 10 on No. 12 at Augusta was, it’s hard not to classify Tiger’s disjointed season including majors as a step backward. We’ll always have 2019 at Augusta.
BIRDIE: Sungjae Im – His slooooooooow backswing takeaway takes longer than DeChambeau’s entire violent swing. Good bet Masters runner-up will win a major with it one day.
BIRDIE: Paul Casey – He fell off after setting the early pace at the Masters, but he was runner-up at PGA and builds a strong case at age 43 to be on Pádraig Harrington’s Ryder Cup pick list.
BOGEY: Phil Mickelson – He may be “driving like a stallion” but he finishes like a 50-year-old. His ceremonial years have unofficially started.
BOGEY: Brooks Koepka – He was dealing with an injury that cost him a start at the U.S. Open. But after calling out former friend DJ’s closing skills at the PGA, it should be noted who got the last laugh.
BIRDIE: Winged Foot – Bryson’s performance did nothing to diminish the reputation of the vaunted West Course that looked better than ever without all the major infrastructure blocking the views. More Winged Foot more often, please.
BOGEY: Tyrrell Hatton – No. 10 in the world with only three missed cuts all year: PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Masters. Bury that head in a hoodie.
BIRDIE: Bernhard Langer – At 63 and giving up more yards than that off every tee to today’s bombers, he not only became the oldest player to make a Masters cut but he beat DeChambeau head-to-head by two shots on Sunday.
BOGEY: Danny Lee – After six-putting from 4 feet on the 18th hole at Winged Foot on Saturday, his wrist suddenly started bothering him and he withdrew. Weird coincidence.
ACE: Will Zalatoris – Korn Ferry Tour pro made a 1 on Winged Foot’s seventh hole in the first round and tied DJ for sixth to boost his successful campaign to earn special temporary PGA Tour membership.
BIRDIE: PGA of America and USGA – Like Augusta, they both safely and successfully presented majors on their intended venues on new dates without fans but also without compromising the quality of the championships. These were welcome events during a difficult time.
BOGEY: R&A – I get it. The 150th Open at the Old Course originally scheduled for 2021 is a big deal, especially financially. Perhaps they were right to worry things won’t be close to normal next summer and push it a year. But seeing a well-staged UK Swing this summer and in October a three-week run of Scottish Open, Wentworth and Scottish Championship played without a hitch made us wonder why a major couldn’t have fit in there.
BIRDIE: Drones – The aerial views of Harding Park and Augusta National were simply spectacular (as was Pebble Beach last year), and the swooping visuals provided by drones trump the static views from blimps. More innovations please.
BOGEY: WAGs – Apparently player wives and girlfriends were immune from the rules everyone else (including Peyton Manning) had to follow at Augusta, walking without masks and with cell phones.
BIRDIE: Online Masters Shop – Even though patrons could not attend, they could shop for 2020 Masters merchandise online for the first time. Popular items included pimento cheese and egg salad shipped to your home and a special-edition Christmas gnome that looks just like Shane Lowry’s caddie, Brian “Bo” Martin.
BIRDIE: No ropes – How cool was Augusta without ropes or grandstands? Really, really, really cool. Maybe you had to be there.
BIRDIE: Free food – As if Augusta already didn’t have the best concessions, its famous food and drinks were free to everyone in attendance. Hard to beat grab-and-go Georgia peach ice cream sandwiches and an Arnold Palmer.
BIRDIE: Acronyms – Like TW on Sunday, let’s finish with four straight birds. Some complain that majors aren’t major without fans, but thanks to PGAA, USGA and ANGC for conducting them and CBS, NBC, ESPN and GC for showing them. We needed this.