Asterisk *

[Jim_Coleman]

   I don’t believe Dustin’s win deserves an asterisk, but his record score does.  Or maybe it’s just not a record at all.

[Rob Marshall]

DJ was the first person to say the scoring record was because of the course conditions. Also a record for the least bogies and the Young Aussie is the only player in 84 years to shoot all 4 rounds in the 60’s. I was amazed by that stat.

[Brock Lynch]

   I don’t believe Dustin’s win deserves an asterisk, but his record score does.  Or maybe it’s just not a record at all.

That was a great performance. I'm sure DJ cares not about the scoring record or your asterisk.

[jeffwarne]

Nope. It rains in April too and is frequently soft then as well.
He shot the lowest score of anybody in the field 3 out of 4 rounds, including the last day, increasing his 4 shot lead to a five shot win.
Sure the course was soft, but there were other barriers to scoring including several rounds that took more than one day to complete, frequent mudballs(he often laid up on perilous par 5's due to this), scruffy conditions and was quite windy the last day, where he tied the low score of 68.
There are ALWAYS scores lower than 68 on their normal roar inducing final round setups.Today there wasn't, indicating a tough final round course.

He shot the lowest score in Masters history, and I would argue he would've won by more without the parity inducing softness-I seriously doubt Smith would've been anywhere near the lead with firmer faster conditions after that scramble show from frequently way out of position.


Perhaps, if several had beaten or tied the old record I would agree about the asterisk. For now, good on DJ on an impressive win.


I will concede Tiger's was impressive due to margin, but that was a 500 yard shorter course, and no asterisk was beside that.

[Rob Marshall]

Nice article on DJ.


https://golf.com/news/evolution-dustin-johnson-masters-champion/

[Ronald Montesano]

Why are some so quick and enthusiastic in minimizing a brilliant performance? His 4th round was his best, as he did it with the weight of history on his shoulders, and Im and Smith on his heels.

[MCirba]

Dustin danced through the graveyard and even skipped atop a few tombstones.

Good on him.

[James Bennett]

How refreshing not to see 'lift, clean and place' on a course dealing with conditions which would normally result in the preferred lie.


He did win by a lot of shots, and 4th was a long way back.  No asterisk needed.

[Joe Hancock]

All the clubs around the world, now updating the way they keep track of course records:


Men’s Low Score record, month of March-
Men’s Low Score record, month of April-
Men’s Low Score record, month of May-

[JLahrman]

All the clubs around the world, now updating the way they keep track of course records:

Men’s Low Score record, month of March-
Men’s Low Score record, month of April-
Men’s Low Score record, month of May-

Not to mention updating MLB's all-time HR list to only include balls that would have been out of stadiums of a standard dimension. And let me tell you, they've got their hands full watching a lot of old videos so that they can reclassify all the long fly ball outs to center field at the Polo Grounds as home runs, while subtracting all the so-called home runs down the lines.

[Kalen Braley]

Does this include all the fly ball outs that hit off the green monster and were doubles instead?

[Jim_Coleman]

   I surrender.  I was wrong.

[Bruce Katona]

I think the asterisk should be included.....................because when DJ hosts the Champions Dinner on April 6, 2021 I'm thinking he'll petition the the past champions (perhaps with a 2nd from Mike Weir, Bubba and Tiger) and Fred Ridley to host a special invited guest at this dinner since he's picking up the tab - The Great One - who will fit right in to this select group.





Just my $0.02

[Peter Flory]

   I surrender.  I was wrong.

I had a boss in the past who would concede by saying "I guess we're both right."

[Mike_Trenham]

I did a quick look at past champions and it seems that only 3 players have only won both the US Open and the Masters


DJ
Cabrera
Casper


I would expect DJ’s portfolio to expand. 


Also Cabrera (who also won at Oakmont) might be the only cooler major winner than DJ in the last 50 years.

[Kyle Harris]

"Play the course as you find it." seems pretty f*&$^* clear to me.

Does Johnny Miller's 63 get the same qualifier?

[Sean_A]

"Play the course as you find it." seems pretty f*&$^* clear to me.

Does Johnny Miller's 63 get the same qualifier?

+1. They played the ball down so all records count. Not that records like this are important.

Ciao

[Peter Sayegh]

I immediately thought of the professional athlete's code that if you have a "knock" or injury and play the game, you cannot use that as an excuse after the fact.Augusta National elected to stage the Masters Tournament in November so it's still the Masters Tournament.
I assume there was some trepidation about the course's presentation in November. We all got to see a unique Augusta National. Kudos to the club for that.

P.S. Congrats to DJ. I doubt his jacket has a lighter shade of green than past champions.

[Kalen Braley]

I was just going to say same:

- Still gets the Green Jacket
- Still gets to come back next year and every other year
- Still gets the winners check
- And yes still has a smoking hot gal on his arm.

In every sense of the word he is #Winning!

[Gib_Papazian]

But it has to be a bizarre sensation, winning the Masters in what amounts to a vacuum.


Doubtless, the agronomy challenges of preparing a golf course at the end of Southern winter and right after a drippy, hot, nasty summer must have presented an unprecedented challenge - given the conditioning expectations of THAT tunamint - but you play the course as you find it and every tournament history has its share of anomalies.


It might be that some players (read: Tiger) absolutely thrive on the momentum of the crowd, carrying them to the next tee. And some would prefer to go about their business without the distractions of cheering and groans.


My one takeaway was the golf course seemed to play much much longer, so it follows that a monster-long player like D.J. would have a tremendous advantage. However, Masters history is checkered with short-knocks winning the Green Jacket. I mean, Bernhard Langer is nearly old enough to run for President (I think Blaring Trumpet might be longer off the tee) and still managed to tack his way around like the champion stud that he is.


But there is no doubt (to me) sticky conditions, slower greens and relative silence gave D.J. a pretty solid leg up for a five shot victory. He's not a real effusive guy and rarely appears "pumped up." It must have seemed a very "flat" Masters to most of the field, so the guy who just goes about his business without fanfare and fist pumps might have felt more comfortable when the wheels started to get wobbly coming out of the gate on Sunday.