Dustin Johnson now on the short list of Masters contenders

It didn’t take long for Dustin Johnson to win after his return to the PGA Tour.

Johnson won the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Sunday at Doral by a shot over J.B. Holmes and two over Bubba Watson for his ninth career PGA Tour win, marking the eighth consecutive season where Johnson has won at least one event.

Since returning to the Tour after a six-month leave of absence to face “personal challenges,” Johnson has played five times. He’s missed the cut twice (Farmers Insurance Open, The Honda Classic), finished T-4 at Pebble Beach, lost in a playoff at Riviera and won at Doral. Consider the Torrey missed cut the result of ring rust and the missed cut at Honda part of landing on the wrong side of the draw. For the three starts that really matter, he’s been right there.

Now the question is: Can Johnson find a way to take what he learned in his time away from competitive golf and combine it with his raw talent to finally win a major? Maybe the Masters?

Despite the great results on similarly difficult courses, Johnson can’t be a Masters favorite — at least not ahead of the likes of a middling Rory McIlroy and a strong Bubba Watson. Adam Scott, who looked good with the short putter this week at Doral, and Jordan Spieth, who had the Masters lead on the first nine on Sunday a year ago, are ahead of Johnson on the favorites list.

Then there’s the matter of Johnson’s Masters record. In five Masters starts, Johnson has made four cuts and finished inside the top 15 once (T-13 in 2013). He missed the cut last year at Augusta National.

However, this is a new Dustin Johnson — a guy now in his 30s, a father and a man who seems focused on seizing his best golf years. After the win on Sunday, he made a strong statement that it’s time to show what he can do.

“I knew I was really good,” he said. “I just knew there was something that I was missing that could make me great.”

If he has found that missing link, he’ll chain together a lot of wins — and quickly.

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

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