Dustin Johnson cruises to Riviera win, becomes golf's new No. 1 player

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Dustin Johnson won for the 10th consecutive season on Sunday, cruising to a five-shot win in the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club to become the 20th player in golf history to assume the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Johnson played 36 holes on Sunday, lapping the field in the third round with a 7-under 64 that effectively put the tournament out of reach. He reached 20 under par in the final round, which is the long-standing tournament scoring record belonging to Lanny Wadkins. However, Johnson retreated in the final 10 holes, playing in 3 over par. Nevertheless, the walk up the 18th fairway was a care-free one as Johnson notched his 13th PGA Tour victory with a final-round 71 and a 17-under 267 total.

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA – FEBRUARY 19: Dustin Johnson celebrates his win on the 18th hole during the final round at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on February 19, 2017 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

This marks the 10th consecutive season that Johnson has won on the PGA Tour, the longest active streak. He joins a select company of seven players who enjoyed streaks that long to start their careers.

With the win, Johnson also passed Jason Day as the No. 1 golfer in the world, a process Johnson said was a “long time in coming.” The reigning U.S. Open champion was told of the scenario to become the world No. 1 going into the week, but he wasn’t interested in knowing the minutiae. Now that he’s No. 1, though, Johnson clearly takes pride in the accomplishment.

“I believe in myself, I think I’m a great player,” he said. “The best in the world, I mean until now I probably wouldn’t have said I was the best in the world, but now I can say it.

And that pride is even if he’s not really sure, like a lot of his peers, how the world ranking formula works.

“I don’t really understand it, but I can read the 1, 2, 3,” Johnson said. “I guess that’s all that matters.”

If he wasn’t already, Johnson is now in the conversation among the favorites to win the Masters. There’s a good chance he could be the top-ranked player when rolling down Magnolia Lane. Johnson was asked if the No. 1 moniker will carry with it addition pressure or added expectations as he tries to bag more majors.

“I’ve only been No. 1 for about 30 minutes,” Johnson said. “Ask me in a couple weeks, I guess.”

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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