How Dustin Johnson overpowered Jordan Spieth to win The Northern Trust

The first event of the FedExCup playoffs came down to the classic one-on-one matchup between arguably the two best players in the world.

For a few years now in the post-Tiger world, there's this silly little debate that repeatedly pops up about "whose best is the best" in the game of golf. There are a couple contenders thrown in this debate, but it's most often focused on Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, and Dustin Johnson. They all have different strengths that come and go, different ages, and different resumes and major counts. Day has fallen off a bit in the past year, and DJ joined the battle in a serious way, getting his first major and then firmly holding world No. 1 for most of this season.

This is, of course, a silly made-for-TV and media debate. It's not answerable in any conclusive way. Getting just two of them to play what is their "best" at the exact same time is a dream. But this weekend at The Northern Trust, the newly named first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, we got something that approximated it between Spieth and DJ. Spieth's putter, the club he cooks with when he's at his best, got hot and it looked like he was grinding the rest of the field to dust, racing out to a four-shot lead early in the final round. But it was DJ who put the pedal down with his best at the last, and that made the difference.

Johnson's biggest weapon is his power. There are big hitters in the game, but if he's not the best driver in the world, he's one of two. All the advanced statistics reinforce just how important power is in the modern game. It's an advantage at almost every tournament and on every course. Hitting it deep, and not necessarily straight, can take you far (horrible pun not intended).

But pure power does not take you to world No. 1. You need other things. You have to be able to putt at least at a mediocre pro level. You need a wedge game, distance control, precision too. Rory McIlroy, who's not been fully healthy this year, could attest to this. He's the other one of two hailed as the best driver in the world, but he's struggled with these other areas all season and, as a result, not really contended for anything, let alone won.

Playing the 18th hole twice over the final 20 minutes at The Northern Trust, we got DJ at his best — the complete package — and it was enough to pass Spieth on this Sunday evening. It starts with the softest club in the bag, his putter. After watching Spieth hit one of the best lag putts you'll ever see, DJ needed to roll in a nasty breaker just to force an extra hole. He stepped up, poured it in, and then emoted in a way that, in the deadpan DJ universe, equates to a wild Tiger uppercut.

That's the kind of putt Spieth is supposed to make on the 18th hole to crush your hopes and dreams (he'd just saved par on the 17th with something similar). Instead, it was DJ, a respectable 50th in strokes gained putting this year, making an improbable must-make.

On the extra hole, it was DJ's turn to use the club that so crushes his opponents’ spirits. With a lake running all down the left side of the 18th, DJ decided to cut the corner and bomb the longest drive of the week some 341 yards out there. It was an outrageous, gutsy line that he said a wind change allowed him to feel comfortable about the "cover" over the hazard. The line, the play, the moonshot execution is the one highlight you'll see and remember most from this one-on-one battle.

This was his advantage on full display. Moments earlier, DJ was exasperated up on the tee after leaking one out to the right. It rolled in the rough and forced him to layup. He was out of position and treading water to keep up with Spieth.

Johnson did keep up with that clutch putt from above, but he didn't utilize his power advantage and he was clearly frustrated as soon as the ball tailed off to the right. With the wind shifting slightly, he was leaving nothing to chance this time around. After drawing the playoff order out of a hat, Spieth went first and popped one out there to the right of the lake, playing the hole exactly how both had just tried to moments prior. DJ hardly waited for Spieth to pick his tee out of the ground, marching to the box knowing he could take an enormous advantage. He didn't mess around and the contrast was staggering.

The damage was done:

• DJ's tee ball was 341 yards
• Spieth's tee ball was 315 yards
• DJ's approach shot was a 60 degree wedge from 94 yards
• Spieth's approach shot was an iron that could not hold the back of an elevated green from 182 yards

Johnson had used his power to cut off the corner and get the best possible angle, maybe one that had not even been conceived by the course staff and PGA Tour officials setting up the layout.

At least one fellow pro wasn't crazy about the setup and the advantage it might have afforded him.

But he still had to pull off the shot with the 60 degree wedge. It's certainly easier than what faced Spieth, but it's an area of DJ's game that was once a weakness. You hear about it on the broadcast just about every single time he hits a good wedge shot. "Dustin has worked so hard, using TrackMan data, to improve his wedges and become one of the best in the world." It's a talking point that prompts an eye roll but it's also true. He's gotten much better with that area of the game and it's one he cites for his ascendancy to world No. 1.

So with the 60 degree in hand, DJ stepped up and stuffed it to three feet. He took little time.

This is a narrow dive on one hole and 20 minutes from a tournament that lasted 73 holes and four days. You don't get to be world No. 1 just with elite power. DJ does it through the bag, and consistently. The birdie in the playoff was the last of a week where a 69 was the highest number he posted (65-69-67-66). You don't post those scores and you don't become world No. 1 just by hitting it far. The power is just the best and sexiest part.

A 341-yard drive, a little wedge, and a birdie. It was over and there was nothing Spieth could do about it. The world No. 1 played his best on the last and most important hole.