His Dell Match Play reign over, Johnson now focuses on the Masters

*Originally published by the Austin American-Statesman*

Last year at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Dustin Johnson blitzed the field en route to his third straight tournament victory and fifth overall WGC title. The No. 1-ranked player in the world was so dominant, he never trailed in any of his seven matches.

Simply put: He looked unbeatable.

This year has been a different story.

Johnson’s first match on Wednesday, against Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, started much the way his matches last year started — winning the first hole. But by the turn, Johnson appeared to have lost the magic he had a year ago.

He lost the 7th hole to go 1-down to Wiesberger, snapping a streak of 118 straight holes without trailing in a match. Momentum went back and forth for the next seven holes, but mistakes by Johnson down the stretch allowed Wiesberger to pull away, closing out the match 3 and 1 on No. 17.

“I thought it was the easiest game I could have,” Wiesberger said after the match. “I’m the underdog playing with the defending champion, so it was — just try to go out there and see what happens.”

The loss was Johnson’s first at Austin Country Club since his quarterfinals loss to Louis Oosthuizen in 2016.

“He wasn’t at his best,” Wiesberger said. “Put it this way. I’m sure he’ll come back tomorrow and have a plan.”

Unfortunately for Johnson, Thursday was more of the same.

The defending champion came out flat once again in his match against Canadian Adam Hadwin. Johnson lost the first hole — a rarity, as he had won the opening hole in seven out of his last eight matches — and never looked to get into a rhythm. In particular, his putter wasn’t as sharp as it has typically been during his stint as world’s No. 1.

Hadwin played solid golf all day and made key putts when he needed to, including a 39-foot birdie on No. 9 to move to 2-up, but even he was surprised by Johnson’s play.

“I played extremely solid all day, obviously,” Hadwin said. “I expected Dustin to play a lot better than he did. I think everybody did.”

Austin locals Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey started following the group on the 12th hole, arguably giving the gallery more excitement than they had seen all day. In fact, the match seemed to play second fiddle to the two celebrities as they walked past the star-struck masses along Lake Austin.

But things soured for Johnson on No. 13 when he rinsed his tee shot.

The miscue put Hadwin ahead 4-up and effectively ended any hope Johnson had at a comeback. The two matched pars on the next two holes as Hadwin closed out the match 4 and 3.

On the day, Johnson only won a single hole — a birdie on No. 5 — on his way to his worst loss in the event since 2014. The loss eliminated Johnson from advancing past the group stage. This will be the first time since the event went to the group play format that the top overall seed will not make the Round of 16.

Johnson faces Kevin Kisner tomorrow before turning his attention to the Masters in two weeks.