Dustin Johnson | Wei Under Par

Jun

19

2017

Sunday gun show, Koepka ties U.S. Open record

By Stephanie Wei under US Open

At the start of the final round of the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, we thought we might be in for a thriller and perhaps even that dreaded “p-word,” but Brooks Koepka separated himself from the field on the back nine and cruised to a four-shot victory. Koepka’s 16-under total tied the tournament record for lowest total under par, which was set by Rory McIlroy in 2011 at Congressional — which quite a few players and caddies predicted as a possibility before championship commenced.

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#2017 U.S. Open, #Brian Harman, #Brooks Koepka, #Dustin Johnson, #Erin Hills, #Hideki Matsuyama, #Jena Sims, #Justin Thomas, #Podcast, #Rickie Fowler, #Tommy Fleetwood, #U.S. Open

Jun

15

2017

U.S. Open round one: Late-afternoon pod on day’s action

By Stephanie Wei under US Open

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Nikki B and I check in to talk about the action after the morning wave finished. She walked nine holes with two different groups, so we discussed her observations, and of course, go on random tangents. Check it out!

FYI: We tried out a new app called Bumpers just for kicks and it was pretty cool, but it’s probably not a format we’ll use normally since we can’t upload it and send it out on our RSS feed that distributes our podcast to the proper channels. But it’s definitely a fun, easy-to-use app to record a pod! Enjoy!

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#2017 Masters, #Augusta National, #Back injury, #DJ's back, #Dustin Johnson, #Dustin's Freak Accident

Apr

5

2017

Join the 2017 WUP Masters Pool and win cool golf swag! (*Update)

By Stephanie Wei under Fantasy Golf

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Good news for just about everyone because I know most of you selected Dustin Johnson in your various and multiple bets, match-ups, pools and contests for the Masters: I’ve put together a WUP pool with awesome prizes at the last minute and you can select your players based on this knowledge of DJ’s freak accident and uncertain status to start Thursday afternoon, not to mention the crazy weather forecasted for the first two rounds.

Best part: It’s free to join (but if you’d like to make a small donation, it would be greatly appreciated) and since it’s last minute, there’s probably a greater chance for you to win cool stuff, like a Mizuno driver and/or signed flag by a recent major champion, etc.

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#2017 Masters, #2017 Masters Contest, #2017 Masters Pool, #Augusta National, #Dustin Johnson, #Jordan Spieth, #Masters Giveaway, #Mizuno, #Rory McIlroy

Apr

5

2017

Wow: Dustin Johnson falls down stairs, injures back, status for Masters unclear

By Stephanie Wei under The Masters

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Dustin Johnson had a freak accident at his rental home in Augusta on Wednesday afternoon. He slipped and fell down the stairs and injured his lower back. As of now, it’s unclear if he’ll be able to play, but it sounds like he will try.

I can’t think of much to say, except, “Wow, crazy, holy sh*t.” I’m seriously pretty speechless. I mean, really, DJ??? This is seriously unbelievable news. And this is not a joke. My second thought was how it probably screwed up a lot of people’s pools, picks, bets, etc. because DJ was the betting favorite, of course. One friend said he had DJ in four different match-ups or something. That sucks, but obviously, those things are of little importance — his health and wellbeing is our main concern, of course.

Here’s the statement released by his agent David Winkle:

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#2017 Masters, #Augusta National, #Back injury, #Dustin Johnson, #Freak Accident

Apr

4

2017

2017 Masters: Pairings for the first two rounds and TV viewing/streaming info

By Stephanie Wei under The Masters

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The Masters unveiled the tee times and pairings for the first and second rounds of the season’s first (men’s) major. Overall, I’d say that there are some good ones, but there weren’t many where I was like, Oh, I’d definitely follow THAT group. Actually, maybe there is one, but I’m on the fence.

I bolded the pairings that stood out to me. I probably could have picked a few more, but since it’s the Masters, the smallest field by far at a major, I would’ve ended up choosing half the groups.

World no. 1 and the betting favorite Dustin Johnson is paired with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and reigning PGA champion Jimmy Walker — all are considered bombers. This threesome is most likely the “one” I mentioned above if I had to pick a group to follow.

Here’s the full list of the groupings for Thursday and Friday at Augusta National:

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#2017 Masters, #2017 Masters Featured Groups, #2017 Masters pairings, #2017 Masters TV schedule, #Alex Noren, #Augusta National, #Dustin Johnson, #Jason Day, #Jordan Spieth, #Masters App, #Masters.com, #Rory McIlroy

Mar

26

2017

Dustin Johnson continues global domination, extends win streak to three straight

By Stephanie Wei under WGC

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For as long as I’ve been covering golf — I mean, literally, the first tournament I covered was the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach — one of the story lines seems to have always loomed: Imagine if Dustin Johnson [fill in the blank]. Where do we start? Practiced his wedge game? Prepared better? Read the rules? Better caddie? Stopped partying? Stronger mental game? Stayed patient? Blah, blah blah. The list continues, but that shouldn’t be interpreted as a negative or insult; rather it was always a testament to the indisputable fact DJ was so talented.

Despite some pretty major heartbreaking blips from 2010 at Pebble Beach to Whistling Straits at the 2010 PGA Championship to the 2011 British Open to the 2015 U.S. Open, there’s never been a doubt DJ would eventually overcome these excruciating letdowns. And two of those were seriously devastating mistakes that happened on the 72nd hole, which could have been devastating on a level to an average pro’s psyche. DJ always said he never let them really bring him down and brushed them off. With each incident, DJ showed resiliency to continue put himself in the position to clinch the win…or fail.

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#2017 Masters, #2017 WGC-Match Play Championship, #Austin Country Club, #Dustin Johnson, #Hideto Tanihara, #Jon Rahm, #Jordan Spieth

Mar

22

2017

WGC-Match Play “pool” format: Yay or nay?

By Stephanie Wei under WGC

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Starting in 2015 at the WGC-Match Play event at Harding Park — an unforgettable week as you may recall! — the format of the tournament changed. Of course it’s still match play and it’s only been in effect for two years, so it’s not really a great sample size to judge, especially since I wasn’t able to catch much of the coverage. In all honestly, I don’t have a good feel for the new round-robin format and I don’t like not knowing or experiencing firsthand the positives and negatives resulting from the somewhat significant changes since 2014.

What I can say with utmost confidence, though, is that Wednesday — the first day of the matches — used to be one of my favorite days of the season (and definitely the most exciting one all year at a non-major, hands down). It was always action-packed, filled with tons of dramas, massive upsets, riveting comebacks, twists and turns that was nonstop from start to end. Which was largely because it was truly golf’s version of the NCAA’s March Madness, a single-round elimination knock-out format. Lose the first match and you might be headed for first-available private jet out of Austin (or Tucson, the longtime venue of the event pre-2015), before the no. 1 seeded player had even teed off.

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#2017 WGC-Match Play Championship, #Austin Country Club, #Bracket Challenge, #Dustin Johnson, #Jason Day, #Jordan Spieth, #Rory McIlroy

Mar

6

2017

DJ goes back-to-back; puts stamp on no. 1 world ranking

By Stephanie Wei under PGA Tour

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First and foremost, I have to reiterate that this past week was absolutely incredible that truly didn’t disappoint. I genuinely can’t remember the last time I was this pumped-up and inspired by a non-major tournament (and it felt really good). The Mexico Championship covered everything you could ask for out of a World Golf Championship, let alone tournament — it had an amazing, star-studded leaderboard, the most thrilling and exciting golf in recent memory (especially at a non-major stroke play event) and simply first-rate hospitality and pure class from all involved.

Major kudos to the PGA Tour championship committee, tournament organizers from America, Europe and Mexico, the generous sponsor — the Salinas family seemed like they genuinely didn’t want their name attached to the event because it wasn’t about them; rather it was about representing the country, its people and the desire to grow the game — the volunteers, the fans, the great venue, and everyone and anyone involved. Well played, Mexico — your country and citizens should be very proud.

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#2017 WGC-Mexico Championship, #Club de Golf Chapultepec, #Dustin Johnson, #Jon Rahm, #Justin Thomas, #Mexico City, #Phil Mickelson, #Rory McIlroy, #Tommy Fleetwood