After a delay of a few months, the 2020 Masters Tournament has a champion. Dustin Johnson defeated the rest of the field convincingly to win his first-ever signature green jacket.
The 2020 Masters Tournament was held from Nov. 12 to Nov. 15 at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia after being postponed back in April due to the coronavirus. After four days of competition, Johnson finished the tournament at 20 under par, winning by five strokes over Cameron Smith and Im Sung-jae. The win marks Johnson’s second major championship win; he won the U.S. Open in 2016.
Last year, Johnson finished in second place, one stroke behind Tiger Woods who won the 2019 Masters. This year, it was Johnson’s time, as Tiger placed the green jacket on Johnson.
After the first round on Thursday Nov. 12, Johnson did not bogey once and was tied atop the leaderboard after shooting a 65, good for five under par. On day two, however, Johnson lost command of his lead and found himself at a tie on the leaderboard shooting nine under par.
Johnson then shot a masterful third round, ending the day with a four-stroke lead at 16 under par. Johnson put on a display of excellence during the round with several impressive holes. He started that day hot, eagling hole two and then shooting birdies on holes three, four and seven. Following the hot start, Johnson scored two more birdies along with hitting nine pars to finish the day seven under par.
Heading into the final day on Nov. 15, Johnson was in complete control of the tournament. He led a trio of competitors by four strokes starting the final round.
After shooting a birdie on hole three, Johnson stumbled a bit, bogeying the fourth and fifth hole. Johnson quickly bounced back with birdies on numbers six and eight to enter the back nine at 17 under par for the whole tournament and a two-stroke lead.
Johnson hit birdies on three straight holes—numbers 13, 14 and 15—to reach 20 under par for the tournament. Johnson shot pars on the remaining holes to end the back nine at 33 and the final day at 68.
Johnson set a record for the new lowest score for a Masters tournament, shooting 268. Nobody in Masters history had shot 20 under par, and Johnson did it with three holes to spare. Jordan Spieth and Woods held the previous lowest score at a Masters, with 270, good for 18 under par. Johnson also tied the record for the all-time scoring at a major championship mark, with his 20 under par.
The win at this year's Masters Tournament is special for not only Johnson, but for his brother Austin Johnson who served as his caddie. In his post-match interview after being awarded his first green jacket as Masters champion, Johnson got choked up and fought back tears.
"Growing up, that was all it was, as a kid," Johnson said. "You dream of playing in the Masters and dream about putting on a green jacket. Still kind of think it's a dream, but … hopefully, it's not."
The Masters win marks Johnson’s 24th win on the PGA tour. Johnson won his first PGA event at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in 2008.
Johnson has been so close in many other major championships, including placing second in the PGA Championship two years in a row in 2019 and 2020. Johnson has also finished in the top ten in the Masters every year he has entered the tournament since 2015.
Defending champion and five-time Masters winner Woods finished tied for 38th, shooting a 287, one under par for the whole tournament. Woods shot four over par in the final round, including shooting a ten on a par three on the 12th hole.
The tournament, however, belonged to Dustin Johnson from start to finish, who put on a display of golfing excellence. The only shame is that fans could not witness his historic performance in person.