To preview the 2013 PGA TOUR season, PGATOUR.COM is counting down the Top 100 Players to Watch in 2013. For an archive page with the top 100 players and for an explanation on how the list was compiled, click here.
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2013 PREVIEW: Six wins on TOUR in five years is quite an impressive streak for Dustin Johnson. His scoring average jumped from 51st to eighth on TOUR last year and he improved from 171st to 50th in strokes gained-putting. He hits it long and he has an underrated short game. Is 2013 the year he gets over the major hump?
2012 DEFINING MOMENT: A back injury sidelined Johnson for the better part of three months. In his second start after returning from that layoff, Johnson birdied the 71st hole on the way to a 66 in the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic that lifted him to a one-shot win. Speaking of FedEx, Johnson closed with top-10 finishes in the final four Playoffs event to finish No. 8 in the final standings. –- Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
ALBERS’ QUICK TAKE: Dustin missed two months of the season with a bad back and still managed a great year. The fact he could miss that much time and bounce back with a win so quickly at Memphis, tells you just how good an athlete Johnson is. He has to watch his tempo. Dustin gets a little quick when in contention but his caddie, Bobby Brown, knows how to hold the reins of his horse. — Fred Albers, SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio
BOLTON’S FANTASY OUTLOOK: One of these years, he’s going to rip off five or six victories and fulfill his ridiculous potential. Despite a sketchy start to 2012 after which he admitted returning from knee surgery too early, and an 11-week break due to a back injury, he matched Tiger Woods with nine top 10s in just 19 starts. (Only Rory McIlroy — 10 in 16 — recorded a better ratio.) DJ also rattled off a top 10 in every event in the FedExCup Playoffs, the only golfer to turn that trick since Padraig Harrington in 2009. When he’s healthy, I’d make a case that Johnson is a top-three draft pick. And at $3.393 million, he’s a no-brainer for salary gamers. — Rob Bolton, PGATOUR.COM Fantasy expert
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2012 QUICK REVIEW
|
Regular Season ranking 26th |
Final Playoffs ranking 8th |
| Best finishes | 1st | FedEx St. Jude Classic |
| By the NumbersStarts: 19 | TOUR rankingDriving distance: 4th |
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
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