	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

July 16, 2015

Dustin Johnson

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND

THE MODERATOR: Everyone, we'll make a start. Very pleased to welcome Dustin Johnson back into the interview room. You got off to a great start, 7-under par 65. Was there a particular key to your round today.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I just got off to a good start, played well on the front nine, and then coming on the way back in, it played pretty difficult. I thought the only time I was really out of position was on 16 and 17. I made probably a 10-footer on 16 for par, and then a 15-footer on 17 for par. But other than that I had good looks at birdie all day.

Q. Some of us might have thought it would be difficult for you coming off Chambers Bay, what happened there. Clearly it wasn't. Do you just not overthink things, just flow into things? How did you make it work so well?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, you know, nothing bad happened at Chambers Bay, so it's not like I was -- I wasn't disappointed, really. I played really well, did everything I was supposed to. I couldn't control what the ball was doing on the greens there. There's really no bad feelings from that, only good. I played really well and then it carried over to today. I played really well today.

Q. Maybe even better?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Slightly.

Q. Not that you're a meteorologist or anything, but having a look at the forecast was there a sense in realising that you couldn't let an opportunity like this pass?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah. Everybody knows the weather Friday and Saturday is going to be very difficult, so today I thought was very important to get off to a good start and try to make as many birdies as you can today because the next couple days it's going to be very difficult.

Q. I'm just curious what line you would have intended to have taken on 17?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I was kind of aiming right where I hit it, just I was trying to play a cut and didn't. I knew if I hit it on that line that it was fine down -- maybe would have been better if it was just a hair left of where I was, but I was just barely in the rough there. Wasn't even in the tall stuff.

Q. You led at Chambers Bay after round 1, as well, and obviously have been in contention at quite a few majors now. Was there a moment you can look back on when it clicked for you how to play these big events?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. I'm not real sure. I played pretty well in all of them, I think, through the years. This one is -- this venue here is one of my favourite Opens. It's kind of hard to beat St. Andrews for an Open Championship. I really like the golf course. I think it sets up well for me. I'm very pleased with that.

Q. Do you come to these events now expecting to play well?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I do. I expect to play well in every event I play in.

Q. Can you talk us through the approach up to the 5th today?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, on 5 I hit a really good drive right down the middle of the fairway and then had 195 hole, so it was a little help off the right. It was a perfect 7-iron and hit a great shot in there to 10 feet right behind the hole and made it.

Q. Was that the longest second shot you had going out, and what was the longest you had coming back in?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, that was the longest one I had going out for sure. Coming back in, I mean, I had quite a few long ones coming in -- 14, the par-5, I had like 275. 16 and 17 I think we had 200 on 16 and 220 on 17. I had some long shots coming in.

Q. What did you hit on both of those?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I hit 6-iron on 16 and 4-iron on 17. Didn't come close to getting there, either.

Q. It would be easy for us to assume that playing with Jordan with winning two majors in a row might be inspiring for you. Did you guys feed off each other because it seemed that way for a while?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, we both just played really well. I mean, we're good buddies, and we like playing with each other. We had a lot of fun out there today. It's special when you're playing well. You always have a lot more fun when you're playing well. But yeah, I mean, our whole group played well. Matsuyama played well, too.

Q. You mentioned the course sets up well for your game. What part of your game does this golf course challenge the most?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, I think it challenges every part of your game, really. You've got to drive it well. You've got to miss the bunkers. That's first and foremost. But then coming into the greens you've really got to be precise with where you're landing the ball and what side of the hole you want to land it on. And then especially when it gets windy out here, your short game has got to be very good, or your lag putting because you're going to have a lot of long putts up and over hills. I think it challenges everything.

Q. I think there's an assumption that when you go through a disappointment it must sit with you for a while. You've obviously had some practice at this. I'm curious what is it in your makeup that allows you to move forward so quickly?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know, but like I've said a bunch of times, the U.S. Open wasn't -- there's really nothing to be upset about. I played well. I did everything I was supposed to do. I mean, I was even hitting good putts. I couldn't -- there was nothing you could do on those greens there to make the ball go where you wanted it to. The ball went wherever the greens wanted it to, not where you wanted it to. You know, I did everything well. I hit the ball well. I put myself in the right positions, just you can't control what the ball is doing on those greens.

Q. I was thinking more outcome-related.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, it was a little disappointing not to get in the playoff at least, but I mean, yeah, I don't really dwell in the past too much. You can't really change it, so there's no reason to worry about it.

Q. I'd be curious, what's the longest anything has ever lingered with you?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not very long. A couple days.

Q. Dustin, you talked about the aspect of bad weather the next couple days. What's your history in bad weather in this tournament in the past five years?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, I've played well in this tournament the last five years. You know, and we've had some pretty good weather in all of them if not most of them. I enjoy it. It's going to be -- golf is going to be interesting tomorrow, you know, but I enjoy the challenge. I like it. You've got to be very creative. You've got to use your imagination a lot when you're out there when the wind is blowing that hard.

THE MODERATOR: Dustin, thank you very much. Well played.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297