Dustin Johnson surely has the horsepower to ascend to the top of the game, but to put it bluntly, whether he possesses the brainpower has long been a matter of debate.
Johnson, whose majestic drives look like heat-seeking missiles, has won at least once in every season since his rookie year on the PGA Tour in 2008 and has steadily contended at several major championships, won his biggest title to date last weekend in Miami, claiming the Cadillac Championship against a field that included the top 50 in the world.
That Johnson had only returned five weeks earlier from a six-month hiatus – an admittedly vague term – only burnished the lore. It was reported, albeit denied by Johnson and the tour, that he flunked a series of drug tests last year and was suspended.
A South Carolina native with a slow drawl and a laconic manner, a handful of PGA Tour caddies once dubbed him “Simple Jack”, a derisive reference to a slow-witted character in the movie comedy Tropic Thunder. Perhaps the game’s last elite player who smokes cigarettes and parties hard, Johnson’s decision-making has been at issue since long before he joined the tour.
His engagement to Paulina Gretzky, the daughter of retired ice hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky, has done little to quell concerns. His fiancee is perhaps best known for posting racy photos on Instagram and has been described as a “celebutante”, someone famous for being famous. They welcomed their first child in January.
Johnson, 30, bolted back to world No 7 with his victory, an impressive recovery given his layoff. It also rekindled the question that has followed him since his occasionally troubled childhood.
Between the ropes, Johnson has the chops to threaten world No 1 Rory McIlroy. But the game’s biggest events are won between the ears, a six-inch span that is more valuable than a 350-yard drive.
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