PACIFIC PALISADES, CA – FEBRUARY 19: Dustin Johnson plays his shot from the ninth tee during the final round at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club on February 19, 2017 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Tiger Woods was the #1 ranked golfer in the world for an astounding 683 weeks, including for a streak of five consecutive years during the mid 2000s. Since Woods has been dethroned as the game’s best golfer as injuries and age have taken their toll, the title of top golfer in the world has been traded back and forth amongst the game’s young stars.

Woods was last ranked #1 in May 2014. Since that time, a total of 5 different golfers have changed the top spot in the rankings 12 times. First it was Adam Scott for 11 weeks, then Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth took turns at #1, then Spieth and Jason Day ping-ponged the #1 ranking. Since August 2015 alone, the #1 spot in the World Golf Rankings has changed hands a whopping 10 times.

Now after his win at Riviera on Sunday, Dustin Johnson climbed to the summit of the World Golf Rankings for the very first time. Johnson was in cruise control all week at Riviera, shooting -17 under for the tournament and winning by five strokes.

Johnson joins this illustrious list of golfers who have been ranked #1 in the world.

The victory at Riviera was the 13th of his career and he’s already off to a hot start in 2017 with a 1st, a 3rd, and 3 Top 10 finishes in 6 tournaments.

Johnson has always had the talent and natural ability, that’s never been a question. However, he had been plagued by high-profile mishaps in majors and personal issues that were a dark cloud over him off the course. Johnson took a leave of absence in 2014 after reports became public about failed drug tests and dalliances with the wives of fellow players.

For the better part of 5 years, Johnson was still perhaps best known for his inability to win a major on the course. He led going into the final round of the 2010 US Open and shot an 82. An infamous penalty on the final hole kept him out of a playoff of the 2010 PGA Championship. He finished second at the 2011 British Open after hitting a shot out of bounds on the Back 9 on Sunday. And then there was his agonizing three-putt that blew a chance at the 2015 US Open and handed the trophy to Spieth.

It seemed to all turn around last year, though. Johnson finally recorded his first major triumph at the 2016 US Open with a comfortable victory (in spite of another calamitous penalty placed upon him by the USGA). He went on to record a career-high 3 victories and not only won the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award, but also lead the tour’s money list, and had the lowest scoring average.

For much of the last couple years, golf has dreamed of a new Big 3 with McIlroy, Day, and Spieth leading the game into its next era. As the last 8 months have proven though, it’s time to expand the highest echelon of the sport’s elite players and make room for a Big 4. It’s obvious that Johnson deserves to be mentioned in the same category as McIlroy, Spieth, and Day as the class of the golfing world at the moment. But the scary thing is that he may have more pure, raw golfing talent than any of the other three, it was just a matter of when he could put it all together both on the course and off the course. With his life and his game seemingly in order, there could be nothing stopping Johnson from a long run as the top golfer in the world.

Johnson might very well be the favorite when the PGA Tour reaches Augusta in early April and right now it’d be a surprise if he doesn’t add to his major total in 2017.