WATCH – Dustin Johnson hits THREE in the water on one hole at 3M Open

Dustin Johnson was the betting favourite going into this week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities.

Instead, he’s propping up the leaderboard.

The former world No.1 opened with a seven-over 78 to sit dead last at the time of writing in this week’s PGA Tour event.

Johnson, the winner of the Travelers Championship less than a month ago, came into the tournament on the back of a missed cut after back-to-back rounds of 80 in last week’s Memorial Tournament.

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Most of the damage was done in a wretched front nine, which saw him close his outward half with a bogey, a double-bogey and a quadruple-bogey.

That included four balls in the water, including three on the par-5 18th – his ninth – alone. After a perfect 332-yard drive, Johnson found the water with his second shot. His next ball also went in the drink, as did his next. Finally, at the fourth time of asking, he finally found the green, knocking it to within three feet for a tap-in nine.

Watch the footage:

It all added up to another disappointing day for the former US Open champion, who is now a combined 23-over-par for his last three rounds.

Still, give the 36-year-old credit for fronting up and facing the media afterwards. 

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Asked what part of his game has been the biggest struggle for him over the past few weeks, he said: “It’s just my iron play. I feel like I’m driving it well. The first six or seven holes, I hit it close and then the rest of the day kind of struggled a little bit with iron play.

“Kind of the same last week, I just struggled with my iron play and makes it difficult.”

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UPDATE – Since this story was published, Johnson has withdrawn from the 3M Open citing a back injury.