Friday 12 May 2017 07:23, UK
Dustin Johnson is confident he can continue his dominant form in 2017 by adding the Players Championship to his list of victories.
The World No 1 arrived at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on Tuesday fresh off a second-placed finish at last week's Wells Fargo Championship that brought an end to his three-tournament winning streak.
And Johnson feels he is back to his best after a freak accident forced the big-hitting American to withdraw from last month's Masters.
"I feel like I'm playing really well right now. Obviously, it's going to take four really good rounds if I want to be there on Sunday," Johnson said.
"But I feel like I'm starting to play this golf course a little bit better. Last year I felt like I was close. Obviously, Jason, he played really well here last year, so he was tough to beat.
"But this golf course is tough. You've got to have all facets of your game working if you want to contend around here. You've got to be doing everything well because you've got to hit all kinds of different shots, every club in your bag, and you've got to really control your golf ball.
"But I feel like the game is in really good shape, and getting a lot more confidence, especially after last week. I played a lot better on the weekend. I've had a couple good practice days the last two days, so I'm excited to get the tournament started tomorrow."
Johnson has traditionally struggled at the PGA Tour's flagship event with his best result coming last year when he finished with a share of 28th.
Jason Day, who was then World No 1, completed a wire-to-wire victory 12 months ago but the Australian has not managed to win since and it is Johnson who goes into this week as the man to beat, with a sizeable lead over Rory McIlroy and Day - who are second and third respectively - in golf's world rankings.
And reigning US Open champion Johnson hopes to show this week just how much his game has developed over the past 12 months.
"I think my game as a whole has gotten a lot better. You know, so I'm interested to see how I can play here this week," Johnson said.
"But it's definitely a new challenge. I haven't had a lot of success around here, so it's definitely a challenge for me. But I feel like if I'm going to play well here, this is the time that I will play well because I feel like the game - everything throughout my whole game is in really good form right now."
