Dustin Johnson boards the Tiger Woods hype train, but says he’s still longer off the tee

Count Dustin Johnson among those showering Tiger Woods with praise his new swing and how relaxed and comfortable he has seemed during practice rounds. DJ got some exposure to the 14-time major winner leading up to a return to action after 10 months on the sidelines rehabbing his surgically repaired back.

But while he is pleased to get Woods back in the thick of things on the PGA Tour, DJ apparently branded as fake news the report from Brad Faxon that the former No. 1 outdrove the currently top-ranked golfer in the world on some five holes during their best-ball match on Friday.

Faxon wrote in Golfweek earlier this week that on the 10 holes on which Woods and Johnson used drivers that “Tiger hit it past Dustin half the time and Dustin hit it past Tiger half the time.”

What was not fake was Johnson’s assessment of Woods’ swing before his lumbar fusion in April — the fourth procedure on Woods’ back since March 2014 — and now.

“He was not swinging very well then. You could tell he was in pain,” DJ said during a joint interview with Woods on the Golf Channel Tuesday morning about the duo’s round in January at Torrey Pines. There, Woods missed the Farmers Insurance Open before his ill-fated trip to the Middle East.

During Friday’s casual 18 holes Woods “looked completely different,” said Johnson. “[He was] swinging much better, swinging with some speed, and it was good to see … He was hitting it hard and [in] no pain and looked like he was swinging really well.”

On Thursday, Woods will hit his first shot that counts since he withdrew before the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic in early February. He’ll tee it up at 12:05 p.m. ET with reigning PGA and FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas, who will accompany the tourney host in the first round of the 18-player, no-cut Hero World Challenge. Dustin Johnson and Brooks Keopka will follow at 12:16 p.m.