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JOHN DEERE CLASSICJuly 13, 2014Zach JohnsonSILVIS, ILLINOIS MARK STEVENS: Zach Johnson, thank you for taking the time to come in. You gave it a great run at the end. Talk about the finish and we'll have some questions. ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, extremely solid day, a lot of confidence out there, a lot of great communication with my caddie Lance, a lot of great opportunities. I mean, I don't know what would have happened if I would have made that putt on 18, but my guess is he wouldn't have been as conservative on his approach shot, so probably would have come up still a little short based on the way he was playing. Tons of positives all around. You know, I'm going to try to keep that glass half full. Q. You dealt with the playoff‑loss disappointment last year pretty well, went to England and got in contention there. Do you feel like you can repeat what happened? ZACH JOHNSON: Without question, yeah. My game feels good. I say that, but my expectations over there are just to go over and keep processing the way I'm processing, keep hitting solid shots. You know, the one thing I've learned from that golf tournament, I've gone in there with minimal confidence and played okay, and playing well and played okay, or poorly. It's a totally different animal than what we're experiencing right now and something that I just truly, truly, truly love. Q. What was it like to have Lance on the bag this week? ZACH JOHNSON: It was terrific. I mean, he's a good friend first and foremost. Prior to the week, prior to me asking him, it was one of those things where‑‑ pretty lucky that Kuch, my buddy Kuch, had three weeks off, so he had 15 days off, Lance did, in a row, so he was ready to work. That's pretty fortuitous. He's great. He caddied for the No.1 women's player in the world for a number of months or years or whatever it was, and then he obviously caddied for a guy that's perennially top 5 to 15 in the world. He knows what he's doing. He keeps it simple, and we had a great, just communication, I would say, formula. That's really all you can ask for. A couple observations he had were spot on. Little things, but little things can be big in this game. Q. What did you learn about yourself last year in the British Open that will apply next week? ZACH JOHNSON: Well, first and foremost, my game‑‑ I think I've only had two top 10s there, or three. I don't remember. I've had a few good finishes in a row, but I feel like my game can climb that board in that golf tournament. I feel like it's a tournament where driving the golf ball is a premium. I mean, driving it straight, especially if it's firm and fast. It is a huge advantage if you can hit your driver straight. I also learned that short game separates yourself. That's what we saw with Phil there last year. He made some putts. Obviously he hit it well but everybody is hitting it well at that point. Short game is what's going to take you further. But I love the nuances of it. I love what it demands, and I love when I leave there, I feel like that golf tournament magnifies my weaknesses more than any golf tournament I've ever played. I mean, you have to hit it high, you have to hit it low, you have to hit it left, you have to hit it right, you have to flop it, you have to bump‑and‑run it, you have to do everything. It's pure golf. Q. (Inaudible.) ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, but frustration certainly, but a small percentage of frustration. You know, I haven't had a great week since‑‑ I had a decent week in San Antonio I guess it was, which was prior to Augusta. I mean, this just verifies that whatever I was doing in that time span between then and now is good. I've got good things going. I've had some time off. I'm a little bit rested. A lot of positives. Q. You said Harman is your neighbor. Is he somebody you've gotten to know very well? ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, well enough. There's a bunch of‑‑ on St.Simon's Island there's a bunch of University of Georgia kids, and Georgia kids, Harris English, Hudson Swafford, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk periodically is there, and probably a few more that I'm forgetting off the top of my head. Yeah, we practice at the same facilities, so I see him quite a bit. Obviously on the road, too. But he's always been known as just kind of a gritty player that plays pretty simple golf. To me it was just a matter of time. I think what we saw today is totally indicative of a lot of hard work and perseverance. I think it's probably his third or fourth or fifth year out here is my guess? MARK STEVENS: Third. ZACH JOHNSON: Okay. My guess is he probably learned a little bit when we played together on Sunday two years ago and he's now applying it, but he's had some low numbers, too. I remember a round he had at Honda that was really ridiculous. Not afraid to go low, and obviously on this golf course you can't be afraid to do that. Q. Gritty players that play simple golf, does that sound like anyone you know? ZACH JOHNSON: Jim Furyk? (Laughter.) Yeah, I mean, that's kind of what I try to model off of, right? I don't really have many options other than doing that. Yeah. I mean, he's fierce. There's not a whole lot of fear there. Might be a small guy stature‑wise, but there's nothing small about him in his golf game. Q. That seems to be a good formula to win here, Stricker, yourself and Jordan last year kind of did the same thing. Does the course lend itself to that? ZACH JOHNSON: To simple golf? Yeah, I think so. I mean, this golf course when it's dry, it's obviously a lot harder, the ball rolls more and it's harder to hit fairways. But yeah, I mean, simple golf on any golf course can work. There's certain golf courses where it obviously helps to hit it, to take advantage of length. I don't think this is one of them. Q. If this morning somebody said we'll give you a 64 and it'll be the lowest round of the day, would you take it? ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I probably would. I probably would. Just because it's Sunday on the PGA TOUR at a golf course that you've still got to show up and hit shots, so I'd probably take it. All the more reason why what he did specifically on the back nine through that stretch there, was that much more impressive. I kind of pushed him, so it's not like he went out there and not had it won on the back nine. That's my interpretation of what happened. Yeah, I'm very pleased with a 64 on Sunday. Q. What are one, two, three shots you'd like to have back? ZACH JOHNSON: It's certainly putts. There's no shots. I can't think of‑‑ maybe a 9‑iron. There's no shots. The putt on 18, the putt on 16 was a good look, 1. I almost holed out on 5 and didn't make birdie. So 5, 9. These are all 15 feet and in. A number of them. I made probably a 20‑footer on 4. Q. I'm not just talking about today, I'm talking about the week. ZACH JOHNSON: Oh, the week. I chunked a wedge on 3. That's one I'd like to have back. I made a bogey with a wedge on 3, and then I made a bogey with a wedge on 6 yesterday. Those two shots are probably the two I'd take back if I had to get nit‑picky. I made four bogeys for the week. That's not terrible. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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