The 2021 Masters has entered the weekend and the Augusta National saw plenty of drama take place on Friday. Defending champion Dustin Johnson shot a 74 in the first round and started off his title defense in a nervy fashion; Johnson then repeated a similar performance in Round 2 after which he, unfortunately, faced the cut after 36-holes.
Dustin Johnson is no longer a part of the 2021 Masters and it is a bummer indeed. Not many expected the defending champion to exit the tournament without reaching the weekend. But that’s just the harsh reality that Johnson faced at the Augusta National.
Dustin Johnson accumulates unwanted records with Masters exit
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Dustin Johnson struggled on the opening rounds at the Augusta National. It was clearly evident with his swings and putts and the World No. 1 would not be happy with how he played the first 36-holes.
Johnson finished his first two rounds with a score of +5, which was not eligible to get him past the cut line (+3). Hence, the South Carolina native exited the Masters without getting a chance to defend his green jacket on the weekend.
The reigning champion’s exit after 36-holes also meant that he joined the record books as well. Well, it isn’t a celebratory achievement as Dustin Johnson became the third defending champion in the last 15 years to miss the cut at the Masters.
Johnson joined former champions Sergio Garcia (2018) and Danny Willett (2017) in this embarrassing record, and D.J. also became the first World No. 1 to miss the cut since Justin Rose in 2019!
Dustin Johnson becomes the first World No. 1 to miss the cut at @TheMasters since Justin Rose in 2019.
He is the first defending champion to miss the cut since Sergio Garcia in 2018.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) April 10, 2021
These facts would definitely have Dustin Johnson making some kind of introspection. He came into the 2021 Masters with the best odds but unfortunately missed out on the 36-hole cut.
Johnson briefed on where it went wrong for him
The opening two rounds did not glorify what Dustin Johnson did last year at the Masters. He was nowhere near his record-breaking performance in 2020. Overall, Johnson committed nine bogeys and two double bogeys in his first two rounds which caused the downfall.
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“Not very good. Mostly just the putter. Six three-putts in two rounds, you just can’t do that,” Johnson reflected on where he lost the momentum. “Obviously didn’t drive it great but drove it good enough, and I felt like I even left myself — never was really too bad out of position, just the three-putts killed me.”
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Dustin Johnson was not too keen on delivering an interview after missing the cut. He was purely agitated with the sub-par performance that made him exit the 2021 Masters prematurely. However, Johnson did mention that he’ll once again get back to competing next week.
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