DJ knows he could lose his No. 1 ranking at Pebble

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Dustin Johnson doesn’t have to look far over his shoulder to see the top threat to his world No. 1 ranking this week.

Johnson is teeing it up at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, his first PGA Tour start since winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions in an eight-shot rout.

World No. 2 Jon Rahm is also in the field this week. Rahm could overtake Johnson for No. 1 if Rahm wins this week and Johnson finishes 45th or worse, according to Golf Channel projections.

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Johnson has two victories among seven top-10 finishes in his 10 starts at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He has finished worse than 44th just twice.

Johnson knows Rahm is within reach of his No. 1 ranking.

“It’s just how it goes,” Johnson said. “If I keep playing well and keep winning then I’m going to stay No. 1. If I don’t play well, there are a lot of really good players that are playing well right now. So, it’s going to be tough for me to keep it.”

The top three players in the world rankings are playing the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with No. 3 Jordan Spieth also in the field.

“If I keep playing like I am and how I should, then, yeah, I’ll be there at the end of the year,” Johnson said.