Dustin Johnson's Masters title defense comes quickly, with more record opportunities

Much has transpired in the upper tier of pro golf in less than five months since November’s COVID-19-delayed 2020 Masters Tournament.

Jordan Spieth is back in the green jacket conversation. So is soon-to-be 48-year-old Lee Westwood, as the 85th Masters begins Thursday at a firm and fast Augusta National Golf Club.

There is no change, however, in the favorite’s role – Dustin Johnson’s record run around Augusta National Golf Club 144 days ago is still fresh in the minds of everyone.

Johnson, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, has the rare chance to pull off what could be called a “Dustin Double.” Since the 2020 Masters was the last major championship that year and this is the first one of 2021, Johnson can win the same major championship consecutively.

The last time that opportunity even presented itself was in February 1971, when the PGA Championship was the first major of that year after being the last one in 1970. Dave Stockton won the 1970 event and Jack Nicklaus took the 1971 one six months later.

OPINION: Chairman misses opportunity to put Masters on right side of history

TIGER UPDATE: Woods driving more than 82 mph before crash, unclear if he was conscious, sheriff says

Because of the quick turnaround from the 2020 Masters, Johnson can also become the first Masters champion to win back-to-back at the same age. His 37th birthday isn’t until June 22.

Only three players have won the Masters in consecutive years, and Johnson is well aware of that.

“It’s just very tough to win, I mean, to win once, and especially multiple times,” said Johnson, who is paired with Westwood and U.S. Amateur champion Tyler Strafaci in Thursday’s first round, going off at 10:30 a.m.

Johnson is the only player in the field to have finished in the top 10 in his past six Masters starts. He is also riding an 11-round streak of under-par rounds at Augusta National.

“I’m ready,” Johnson said.

After Johnson won the 2020 Masters, the early odds for 2021 had Johnson as the favorite, followed by Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlory, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas. The top two in most betting services are now Johnson, followed by Spieth. DeChambeau or Thomas, coming off a Players Championship win, is the No. 3 pick in most services.

Spieth, who has been on a tear since Feb. 7 and won last week for the first time since 2017, is the rare Masters contender who isn’t even ranked in the top 50. He’s 53rd in the world because his slump had been so prolonged.

Westwood, 47, can become the oldest Masters champion, breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record set 35 years ago when he was 46. Westwood tapped into the fountain of youth during the pre-Masters Florida Swing, finished second in back-to-back tournaments. He’s jumped in the world ranking from 47th before November’s Masters to 20th.

The starting field of 88 players will face a course that will ask much different questions than in November. The firmness of the fairways, and especially the greens, will make the answers harder to come by.

“You're going to have to put four good rounds together, especially with the conditions, like normal conditions,” Johnson said. “You've got to do everything well. And with it firm and fast, it's just a really hard golf course because obviously any hole at any time can jump out and get you.”

How fast are the greens? Fred Couples, the 1992 Masters champion, saw the firmness first hand on Wednesday during a nine-hole practice round with McIlroy.

“Rory asked me five times, ‘Have you ever seen the greens like this on a Wednesday?’ and five times in a row I said no,” Couples said. “He was laughing. He’s been here a bunch. If it stays like this, even Friday, 70 or 71 will be a heckuva score. If we get rain and it softens up, these guys are the greatest players and the golf course is there. But the greens are hard to get the ball close.

“It’s the way it should be, it should be hard,” Couples said. “I enjoy it. I want to see these guys play it as hard as it possibly can. They’re not concrete yet, but they’re brown and they’re going to get there fast. Look out.”

In the November Masters, Westwood said “you could actually miss it in spots you were terrified about when you were making your plan, and you could be aggressive to certain flags. It wasn't, as everybody would sort of say, a true Masters. This week it's back to how the golf course should play, fast and firm, and this is how it is at its toughest. You'll see, I think, people who have got a lot of experience around here coming to the top of the leaderboard again.”

That would include Westwood, who is playing in his 20th Masters. And though Spieth is only playing in his eighth Masters, he has a stroke average of 70.46 for 28 rounds. Tiger Woods has the record at 70.87, for between 75 and 99 rounds. Woods has played 90 rounds.

A firm course should play into the hands of the longest hitter on tour, DeChambeau, who is making his fifth Masters start. He was the presumptive favorite in November and still led the field at 324.4 yards per measured drive, but mistakes and over-aggressive play led to a tie for 34th place.

He’s averaging a PGA Tour-leading 320.8 yards off the tee this season and is coming off a victory in March’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I've never seen it this fast, this quick, this early, but I certainly love the challenge,” said DeChambeau, who plans break out a driver that has a loft of 4.5 degrees for the first time.

“I just feel like wet conditions and the landing and stopping and the golf ball being wet has played a little bit to me not knowing fully what the golf ball is going to do,” DeChambeau said, referring to the November Masters. “So whenever it's firmer, faster conditions, whether it be Shriners, whether it be Bay Hill or the U.S. Open or different golf courses I've won on, they have usually always been firm. So I think that plays into my hand nicely for what I'm comfortable with.”

When DeChambeau won September’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he combined his length with a deft short game. That is part of a winning combination at the Masters.

“Length is only as good as you can hit your next shot, is what I always say,” DeChambeau said. “And that's the most important thing about Augusta National, is it doesn't test just the driving. It tests your second shots, it tests the third shot, it tests - you're making for par, your 4-footer you're trying to make for par. I think that's what's so special about here is that you have to have every facet of your game working really, really well.”

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Masters 2021: Dustin Johnson gets another chance at more records