Johnson ready to defend RBC Canadian Open title

HAMILTON, Ontario – The golf course isn’t the only thing that’s different this year at the RBC Canadian Open. Defending champion Dustin Johnson is no longer working directly with his long-time coach Claude Harmon III.

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Johnson, who won the 2018 Canadian Open by three shots, said Wednesday he had always been working with Harmon III, Butch Harmon, and Allen Terrell – who coached the 20-time TOUR winner in college – but he’ll continue to work with just Terrell and Butch Harmon moving forward.

He wouldn’t call it a coaching change, however.

“I've always worked with Coach Terrell, I've always worked with Butch and Claude. So it's not really a change,” he said.

Johnson has played the last four Canadian Opens contested at Glen Abbey Golf Club, which suited his game – the course has three short par fives on the back nine, for example – and his 23-under total a year ago was the lowest winning score since Tiger Woods in 2000 (22-under). But Hamilton Golf and Country Club is much shorter, and Johnson admitted he won’t see the back nine until Thursday’s opening round.

“I like the front nine. It's the only nine I've seen, but […] I like the golf course,” said Johnson, who will rely on his caddie for an update to the back nine when they tee it up on Thursday. “It's kind of an old school golf course. Got to hit it straight. But I like it so far, what I've seen.”

Still, Johnson is one of the favorites this week.

He took the last two weeks off to relax at home after the PGA Championship, where he had a spirited run on Sunday and finished runner-up. He sits fifth in the FedExCup standings on the heels of seven top-10 finishes this year, including a win at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

His last start was at the PGA Championship, and although he fell just short of capturing his second major title, he said he didn’t feel like there his performance was one to be upset about.

He called it a “good, solid week” in a season that’s been filled with those kinds of performances.

This week, Johnson is looking to defend a title for the second time in his career (2009 and 2010 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) and he’ll try to accomplish the feat as a fan favorite.

Thanks to his engagement to Paulina Gretzky, he’s been embraced by the Canadian fans as one of their own. Any connection to Wayne Gretzky, the greatest hockey player of all time, gets him some extra love. Gretzky grew up in Brantford, Ontario, just 30 minutes from Hamilton.

“I love coming up here and playing,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot of fun to come out here and have a lot of support.”