World No.1 Dustin Johnson says he's regained confidence after a post-Masters slump as he looks to give his red-hot 2017 a second wind at the US PGA Tour's Canadian Open.
Johnson kicked off the year with three wins in as many starts, including back-to-back World Golf Championship titles, en route to usurping Australia's Jason Day at the top of the world rankings.
But the big-hitting American suffered a freak fall down a set of stairs on Masters eve, and after pulling out prior to the Augusta National major he has only registered one top-10 since.
After a lacklustre tie for 54th at last week's British Open, 33-year-old Johnson arrives at this week's Canadian Open at Toronto's Glen Abbey course as the undisputed favourite.
But the biggest issue has been believing his heavyweight status.
"Mentally, (suffered) just a little lack of confidence, because obviously I was playing so well for 12 months leading up to the Masters," said Johnson on Wednesday.
"It's been a little bit of a struggle just to get back. I've had to put in a lot of work, but I'm starting to see signs of it. It's all positive and it's all definitely moving forward."
Johnson, who ranks second on Tour for driving distance with an average of 313.3 yards, is confident of overpowering the 7,273-yard (6,650-metre) Glen Abbey.
The course isn't very long. If I'm driving it straight, then I'm going to play really well," said Johnson.
Cameron Smith headlines an eight-strong Australian contingent at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey, and he's looking to add a second Tour victory to his breakthrough win at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans in April.
Geoff Ogilvy, playing this season on a one-time career moneylist exemption, sits at 116th on the FedEx Cup standings and is a strong chance to finish inside the top-125 and retain his Tour card for 2018.
But the 2006 US Open winner wants more - a Canadian Open victory wouldn't surprise the 40-year-old Victorian given he has three top-10s from six previous starts.
Last year, Ogilvy finished the final round with two birdies and two eagles for a nine-under 63, securing a tie for ninth.
"You always want more. The goal this year was to get back into the FedEx Cup playoffs and have a proper card for next year. It's not quite job done," said Ogilvy, an eight-time winner on Tour.
"I really like the Canadian Open and have played well here.
"I'm pretty motivated to have another five or six PGA Tour seasons like I had a few years ago.
"The game feels really close to being consistently good and I'm pretty excited."
Rounding out the Australian contingent are youngsters Brett Drewitt, Curtis Luck and Ryan Ruffels, as well as veterans Cameron Percy, Matt Jones and Greg Chalmers.
Recent Australian winners of the Canadian Open include Jason Day (2015), Nathan Green (2009) and Greg Norman (1992 and 1984).
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