Like one of his drives, Johnson's career in full orbit

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PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Dustin Johnson was about to settle in over his tee shot Monday when Nick Price couldn't resist a good-natured rib of the long hitter.

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"Dustin, can you wait a second until the blimp moves out of the way?" Price said.

Even Johnson got a chuckle out of that one, pausing for a few more seconds to unload on a drive that looked like a rocket launch into the blue skies, somehow missing the blimp, and traveling 312 yards -- uphill, on a non-rolling fairway -- to easily win the long drive portion of the ADT Skills Challenge at The Breakers.

Like that was some surprise.

"We're all playing for second place," Ricky Barnes said a few minutes earlier, not needing to explain what he meant.

Until a year ago, Johnson was one of the best-kept secrets on the PGA TOUR, possessing that rare combination of power and touch and humility. He had won twice by the age of 24, but few people realized the enormous skills carried by the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder because he is, by nature, a shy person.

That all changed in 2010 when Johnson won two more PGA TOUR titles -- the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for the second consecutive year, as well as the BMW Championship -- and he could have done so much more. He may have avoided the blimp Monday, but there were a couple blips that disrupted what could have been a one-for-the-ages season.

He led by three going into the final round of the U.S. Open -- at his stomping grounds of Pebble Beach -- before a triple bogey on the second hole sent him careening to an 82 that left him tied for eighth. Then he carried a one-shot lead to the 72nd hole at the PGA Championship before an errant tee shot -- and a questionable ruling when he grounded his club in a bunker -- left him with another triple bogey after a two-shot penalty and yet another heartbreaking finish in a major.

Three months to the day of the final round of the PGA at Whistling Straits, Johnson didn't sound Monday like someone in need of a couch or a punching bag over what might have been.

"I look back, I had a great year," Johnson said. "I put myself in a lot of good situations. I played solid all year long, had two wins. There were a couple unfortunate situations that happened, and I learned a lot from them. I can't really take anything bad from it."

In retrospect, Johnson earned as much admiration from his peers on the PGA TOUR for the positive way he handled those setbacks as he did by possessing the type of game to put himself in position to win half the season's majors. A lot of players have the talent to win majors; not so many have the temperament to deal with excruciating losses in majors.

"I've been with him right after both tournaments, and I think he's handled it great," said TOUR rookie sensation Rickie Fowler. "He's been in tough situations and he handled it with a class act. He moves on quickly and doesn't let things bother him. That's good."

Most seasoned professionals will say they learned more -- and became a better player -- after a tough loss than had they won. Of course, that type of perspective usually doesn't come soon thereafter.

Johnson

"If it's all plain sailing, then you don't know what to do in a storm," said Price, who lost a couple leads in majors early in his career before he won three majors and became the game's top player in the mid-1990s. "You have to have the storm before you get into the good weather. Watching him at the Ryder Cup, the way he handled himself after the PGA, I think most of us would have gone nuts."

Johnson was so distraught, it took him less than a month before he bounced back to win the BMW Championship. He admitted he was a little surprised -- and very appreciative -- of the support he got from the other players after his close calls.

"After the PGA, I had a lot of good talks and comments from guys out here on TOUR," Johnson said. "It made me feel a lot better. I mean, I felt fine afterward, anyway. But it's good to have my peers and a lot of older guys I have a lot of respect for to say, 'I played really good; it was a crappy situation, I handled it well and everyone was proud of me.' That was good to hear."

Fowler sees nothing but blue skies and calm sailing for Johnson's career from here on.

"I expect big things out of him because he's such a solid player," Fowler said. "I don't expect the PGA and the U.S. Open is going to bother him much. It wouldn't surprise me if he wins a major soon."

Move over, blimp. Johnson's career is really about to take off.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.