On the launch week of TaylorMade’s new M3 and M4 drivers, the company could not have gotten a better advertisement for their product. Dustin Johnson was in sumptuous form at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the first PGA Tour event on 2018, demolishing a high-quality field to win by eight shots at Kapalua.

We all have our predictions about how 2018 is going to go in golf, especially who will win the majors, and the World Number 1 reminded everyone of who the man to beat is this week. It was Johnson’s 17^th PGA Tour win, four more than the next player under 40.

Last year, Johnson headed to the Masters as heavy favourite, having bagged three consecutive wins on the PGA Tour. After an unusual stairs fall on the eve of the tournament, Johnson said that it put his game back “probably for a good five months”.

Now back at his athletic best, this was the Johnson that became the world’s best player. Only Rory McIlroy can compete with Dustin Johnson’s brilliance with the driver, and the 33-year-old hit some unbelievable drives over the weekend at Kapalua.

On Saturday, he drove over the green at the 382-yard par 4 6^th hole, while the group ahead were still on the green, skimming past the hole for an ace. He topped that on Sunday on the 12^th hole, hitting what will surely go down as one of the greatest drives in the Tour’s history.

There has only ever been one hole-in-one on a par 4 on the PGA Tour, and we may never see one closer to a second one. Johnson smashed an amazing drive on the 433-yard par 4 12^th hole that was tracking all the way to the bottom of the cup, only to finish 6 inches short. A tap-in eagle gave Johnson the room to cruise to victory.

It was vintage Dustin Johnson but it is easy to focus solely on the driving aspect of his game. The biggest difference between Johnson and McIlroy right now is in approach play, and on Saturday, Johnson also eagled the 12^th hole, this time holing a perfectly played wedge shot.

Second behind Johnson was Irish Open champion Jon Rahm, who has now risen to World Number 3, behind only Johnson and Spieth in the Official World Golf Rankings. Not since Tiger Woods have we seen such a rapid rise up the ranking for a newly turned professional.