The Biggest Day In Dustin Johnson's Golf Life

Today is the biggest day in Dustin Johnson's golf life.

He starts the final round of the U.S. Open with a three-stroke lead over Graeme McDowell and five clear of Tiger Woods, staring history smack in the face. All he has to do is finish it.

Johnson, who played college golf at Coastal Carolina and lives in Myrtle Beach, looks like he's ready to do it. He's made very few mistakes through three rounds and used his enormous power to overwhelm Pebble Beach at times.

But doing it for three days is different from doing it on the fourth, especially when the greens are bumpy and the nerves are raw. That's not to say Johnson can't get it done, only that this is very different from winning the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach the past two years.

Before the Open started, I didn't put a lot of stock into Johnson's two February wins at Pebble Beach. He'd only played three rounds at Pebble Beach in those two multi-course tournaments and the set-up is so different from what it is this week. It's wet in the winter, firm right now.

Evidently, it doesn't matter to Johnson.

He is so long and strong, that he's playing a different Pebble Beach than everyone else. Even Tiger Woods marvels at Johnson's length, calling him "stupid long."

He drove the par-4 fourth hole, playing a short 286 yards, with a 4-iron Saturday. He hit a 273-yard, uphill 3-iron over the sixth green and hit a 206-yard 7-iron to set up a birdie at the 17th hole.

If you caught the slow-motion replay of Johnson's swing with a driver on Saturday, you saw one of the most athletic rips you'll ever see. He gets the club so wide it allows him to generate enormous speed with his 6-foot, 4-inch frame and then he seems to compress it all as he makes his downswing.

To use one of the most over-used words in the English language, it's awesome.

"He stood up and had no fear," said Graeme McDowell, his playing partner, after seeing Johnson shoot 66 Saturday.

"But he has to sleep on a three-shot lead. We'll see how he feels (Sunday)."

Johnson just smiled when told of McDowell's comment.

"I think I'm going to feel good," Johnson said. "It's going to be very hard. I have to stay patient and keep playing like I've been playing and I'll be tough to beat."

When the inevitable question came about having Woods looming in third place, though five shots back, Johnson faced it like he faces Pebble Beach -- going right at it.

"He's the best player in the world," Johnson said. "It's not a shock to see him right there. All I can do is worry about myself. I can't control what he does. I can only control what I do."