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NORTHERN TRUST OPEN

February 19, 2016

Dustin Johnson

Pacific Palisades, California

Q. Just talk about your position through two rounds here.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I like where I'm at. Obviously the afternoon guys still have to play, I don't know exactly where I'll be at the end of the day. Definitely happy with the way I played the last two days. Felt like it was pretty much the same, yesterday felt like I hit it really well. Just didn't hole any putts. Today the same, I hit it really well, had a lot of good looks at birdie and just holed a couple more putts.

Q. How did you drive the ball today?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, it's funny you ask. I think I drove it very well today. (Laughter) I just switched -- from last week I switched. I'm playing the new M2 driver. It seems to be working very well right now. Obviously I'm swinging pretty good, too, so that helps.

Q. Adam said he'd never seen anybody take the line you took on 13 before --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I just hit a really nice, high cut on 12 right down the middle of the fairway, so I don't know, it just -- it's no problem to hit it over the top of the trees for me. Yeah, I just hit a nice, high cut and went right down the middle again. I figured I'd just hit the same shot I did on the last hole and fortunately I did.

Q. How far?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I had 115 hole. Hit a great shot, almost went in the hole for a two, and you know, spun back a little bit and I just missed it.

Q. When you come to a course where you have lost in a playoff last year, is it positive vibes because you played well or negative vibes because you did lose?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Oh, no, I mean, definitely positive for sure. You know, I feel like I play well here a lot. I really like this golf course. I think it sets up very good to me. It looks good to my eye. It's a beautiful course.

It's fun to play. You've got to hit a lot of different shots, and it never plays easy. So this is about as easy as it can play right now, good weather and the greens are really soft. Still, the scores are not that low.

Q. Seems like if you go back to Kapalua and Torrey and Pebble, you were playing okay, just seemed like you were spinning your wheels a little bit. Did you feel that at all?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I was playing terrible, so -- to me I was. Just wasn't striking it good with the irons. Wasn't hitting it solid with the driver. Everything was just a little bit off.

But put in a lot of good work last week and this week. I mean, to be honest. It really wasn't surprising that I wasn't playing very well, because I had not practiced at all.

Q. From the Bahamas onwards?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I had not practiced at all, actually. It wasn't surprising.

Q. From Bahamas to when?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Till I teed it up. But you've got to take a break at some point. You can't -- or at least I do. I've got to have some time off.

Q. Did you play any?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No.

Q. You didn't touch a club?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not really. I might have touched one. I didn't swing it, though.

Q. So when you got to Kapalua --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I got there a few days early, so I played a little bit of golf. From then until San Diego, I didn't. And from San Diego to Pebble, I didn't.

Q. Is that different for you this off-season? Was it different from previous ones?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, not really. That's pretty normal for me.

Q. What do you do in December when you're not playing golf?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: There's a lot of things you can do other than golf. Yeah, I do them all. (Laughter).

Q. Are these new irons this week, or relatively new irons?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I did, I put a new set of irons in. I think they are the PSi Tours, something like that.

Q. Did you ever have any concerns about switching clubs --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I spent a lot of time on range just with TrakMan getting the distances dialed in. Yeah, I felt really comfortable. I mean, it seems to be working so far. I haven't hit any balls that were -- that came up weird yardages or anything. Everything's going how I've been planning it to go.

Q. Let narrow this down. What is your favorite athletic endeavor besides golf in December?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Probably skiing. I enjoy it. I went a couple times this year.

Q. In the snow, right?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, in the snow. I'm not a big water skier.

Q. Do you see any parallels between skiing and golf? Justin didn't.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I don't, either. It's a good leg workout.

Q. Do you ever worry about injury?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. I'm pretty -- I mean, I ski but I'm very cautious.

Q. What's your handicap as a skier?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I'd say like a two.

Q. Can you talk about your par saves on 5 and 7?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think 5, I had -- I was just on edge of the fairway, but just that was probably the worst shot I've hit in the last two days. I just hooked it a little bit, and then made a good up-and-down. Made a nice putt, 5-footer for par.

And then on 7, I hit two great shots I thought. Landed right next to the hole. Just spun off the front. Then my first putt, it just bounced a little bit coming through the fringe and came up four feet short and then holed a nice little slider from four feet.

Q. You talked about how much you like it here and the last two years, you obviously came so close. Why is this not a frustration thing with Riviera?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: There's nothing I could have done last year. Well, I guess there is. Bogeying 17 was pretty bad. But in the playoff, I hit good shots. He just holed a long putt there on 14. So you know, hats off to him. It wasn't like I did anything wrong. So I have no bad vibes or anything here. I love coming back here.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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