SPRINGFIELD, N.J. – It was drizzling when Dustin Johnson finished his morning pro-am round during the Northern Trust Open at Riviera this February. His team would finish first that day, but instead of joining his group – which included his future mother-in-law, Janet Gretzky, and his fiancee’s brother, Tristan Gretzky – for a celebratory lunch, there was something he needed to address.
Instead of climbing the tall stairs to the famous clubhouse atop the hill at The Riv, Johnson and his brother/caddie, Austin, veered right off 18, to the practice area. Next to a Trackman that had been set up, he joined a couple of TaylorMade reps and began to dial in the distances on his wedges, moving from his 60 degree to his 54 degree to his pitching wedge, hitting all kinds of shots.