Ben Coley hails new world number one Dustin Johnson

Golf has a new world number one after Dustin Johnson destroyed both field and course to finally win the Genesis Open, an event which had somehow escaped him in the past.

Leading the field in driving distance and greens while ranking third for strokes-gained putting, Johnson made Riviera his own personal playground and, by the conclusion of round three, had ended the tournament earlier than scheduled, just as Jordan Spieth had done one week earlier.

And with Jason Day having underperformed, finishing in a lowly share of 64th, Johnson's reward was more than the $1.4m winners' cheque, more than a trophy he coveted more than any other outside the four majors - it was the right to call himself the game's best player.

While rankings are arbitrary, functional lists which always come with caveats, Johnson is a deserved number one, even if Sir Nick Faldo couldn't get his head around the brilliance before him.

"I won my fourth major to get to number one," said Faldo, live on CBS. "It wasn't like, you know, win one and play well for a year."

Unlike Golf Channel, where Frank Nobilo and Brandel Chamblee can be seen arguing live on air, Faldo's analysis went completely unchallenged despite being, well, a load of nonsense.

Perhaps my memory fails me, but I do not recall Faldo taking such issue with Lee Westwood or Luke Donald being world number one, as if to imply that longevity should be considered a more important factor.

Except, DJ has longevity, too. Victory at Riviera meant that Johnson has won at least one title in each of his 10 years as a PGA Tour player, years which began right out of college in 2008. He has the majors and WGCs Westwood has not been able to collect and, unlike when Donald was number one, competition for top spot is fierce.

Even with five wins in 11 starts, Hideki Matsuyama has not been able to get to the top of the sport and Faldo's pompous trash talk undermines the fact that for 95% of every broadcast, he's in a league of his own.

For a time as a player, he was exactly that: better than everyone else, deserving of the status. And when Johnson is in the form he showed at Riviera, so is he. There is no asterisk here and whether he remains there for a month, a year or a decade, Johnson has earned top spot.

Rory McIlroy, at three, will have eyes on a return to number one when he gets back to competitive golf at the WGC-Mexico Championship in just over a week as the build-up to Augusta begins to gather pace.

According to No Laying Up, McIlroy spent Sunday playing golf with the pitiful excuse of a man masquerading as president until impeached/the world ends. The hope is that this was part of an elaborate sting operation rather than a lifestyle choice on McIlroy's part.

Last week was also notable for the birth of Super Sixes, Keith Pelley's brainchild which saw strokeplay and match play combined in Perth.

Clearly, to catch on in Europe, it would help were the next one to be held in Europe, but from what I saw the format was a tremendous success.

In the main, players bought into it with precisely the right attitude, as underlined by the likeable Brett Rumford who said after winning that as long as ideas like this help get people involved in golf, he's game.

Whether Rumford would've said the same had he lost the final, having dominated the strokeplay qualifier in which his eventual opponent only scraped through, is difficult to say - although I suspect he would. Whatever the case, if there was a 'right' winner, it was Rumford and that certainly helps.

For what it's worth, I would encourage organisers to cut down the strokeplay to 36 holes, therefore demanding aggressive golf from the off, and either going straight into a last 16 or expanding to a 32. Seeding players via a countback process only confused things and certainly didn't add drama.

It would also seem sensible to ensure that the knockout hole, on which many matches were decided, was a proper golf hole. Why, having slogged for days playing proper golf, should matches be decided via pitch and putt? It's generally accepted that birdies are more exciting than pars, but that changes when birdies become more common than pars. Therein lies the mistake and a driveable par-four or a par-three of around twice the length of the one chosen would've made much more sense.

I was surprised not to see a shot clock, which would've simultaneously represented both a brave and populist move, while there were far too many minor complications which undermine the idea of any such format: to simplify a sport which too many people see as complex, slow and dull.

Indeed, after Saturday's play-off to decide who would make the match play round, there was some debate as to whether 17-year-old Phachara Khongwatmai had broken a rule which forbids players from taking on advice from anyone other than their caddie during a round.

Gladly, speculation was soon quashed. While it would've been hilarious were golf's inordinately broad rule book to interfere with a bit of fun in Australia, it would also have ruined the tournament.

Ultimately, this was a good start and credit to Pelley for his total commitment to revolutionising the European Tour. It's easy to see why he's been a success across a variety of industries and providing he continues to counsel those who understand the sport, it's likely he'll be remembered as fondly as his predecessor, George O'Grady.

Players to watch

I'm going to repeat the message with Justin Rose here.

A few weeks ago, following his share of fourth at the Farmers, I put forward the Olympic champ on the grounds that he's started 2017 in something like top form, which is all the more impressive given that he's not a particularly effective west coast golfer.

Another share of fourth in the Genesis Open further underlines that he's one to keep a close eye on - particularly as the Tour now heads to Florida, a place he's called home for many years. It's a surprise and a disappointment that he doesn't tee it up in the Honda Classic this week.

The Super Sixes doesn't really lend itself to eyecatchers, except of course the aforementioned Khongwatmai who, at 17, really does have a bright future ahead.

That said I did like the way Jordan Smith fought his way into Saturday's play-off for a match play place and while he was knocked out after twice making bogey on the difficult 18th hole, he continues to look a cut above your average promising young player.

Smith won the EuroPro Tour money list, then the Challenge Tour money list, and has adapted to life as a European Tour player just as swiftly.