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WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 25, 2017

Dustin Johnson

Austin, Texas

CANDACE REINHEIMER: Dustin, congratulations on your 4 & 2 victory today. This makes it the farthest that you've ever gone in this event and you're well on your way to completing the Grand Slam of the World Golf Championships. Your thoughts on your round today.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I thought I played good. I got off to a good start. 3-up through 3. And played really well the rest of the front nine. I was 3-up at the turn. I gave him two holes there on 10 and 11. And he made a nice putt on 12, so got it back to all square.

But then I birdied 13, 15 and 16 to close out the match. I played really well, just hit one bad shot on 11. That was about it.

Q. 12 is the first time you've been square all week, except on the first tee. Were you cognizant of that? What did it feel like been that you've been dominating all week?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I knew Alex was going to be a tough opponent. I wasn't frustrated that I was all square, I was frustrated that I kind of gave 10 and 11 away.

12, he made a nice putt there to beat me, that's totally fine. But I gave him the holes on 10 and 11. So I was a little frustrated. But I came back, made a nice birdie on 13 and won that hole and then birdied 15 and 16 to win, too. Came back strong after losing three holes in a row.

Q. Can I ask you, what makes you such a tough match play opponent, do you think?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. I'm playing good golf right now. That's one thing. I like this golf course. I feel like it suits my game pretty well. I've got a good feel for it. I make a lot of birdies. I don't know. What do you think?

Q. On the back nine, was it almost coming too easy for you, especially the first three holes? It seemed like he could do nothing right and you were just on fire. Was there ever any time you had mental lapses during the round?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, it was a pretty tough match. Obviously I won the first three holes, but then from there we were kind of back and forth. Like I said, I gave 10 and 11 away. Then he won 12, too. Got back to all square. So obviously it was a lot tighter than I would like to have been standing on 13 tee. But came back and birdied three of my next four holes and got the match.

Q. Was that good for you?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I guess. It was the first time all week, like he was saying, that I've been all square in a match. So it was nice, especially after losing three holes in a row to come back strong and birdie three of my next four holes.

Q. Does your strategy or level of aggression change when you're up three holes like you were early, or tied going to the 13th tee?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I play the golf course the same, no matter if I'm up, down, doesn't really matter. For me I've got a game plan and so I stick to it no matter what and play the golf course just the same way I would no matter what.

Q. Two things. What do you think was the most important shot you hit today?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: That putt on 13 I think was a big one, especially -- that was just outside of him and to hole that putt, put a little pressure on him, and then he missed it, so I think that was a pretty important shot there.

Q. Secondly, how would you describe your pulse when you're out there on the course?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's beating (laughter). Not very fast.

Q. Do you ever find yourself at all relaxed or ramped up, one way or the other depending on -- this is kind of point also, isn't it?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, maybe sometimes. Sometimes it gets going pretty good. It just all depends if I'm walking up a steep hill or something.

Q. Given your current form coming in and then the way you've been playing this week, do you feel like at any point that an opponent has been pressing, knowing that you're probably not going to make any mistakes and has been pressing to get ahead of you or to do something that maybe they shouldn't have been doing?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. I haven't really paid attention to what they were doing. It's enough to worry about where my ball is going.

But I don't know, I really don't know if they were pressing or not. The guys I played against seems like they've all played pretty well. They haven't really given me much.

Yeah, again tomorrow I'm playing Tanihara, he's playing pretty well. I feel like I'm going to have to go out and play some pretty good golf again.

Q. You don't think your current form intimidates anybody at all?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. You need to ask them.

Q. Was Wayne Gretzky out here this week? I wonder if you've ever talked to him about the pressure in playing at such an elite level. You're playing at the top of your game like he did for 20 years in hockey.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yes, he is here. He's been out watching. And, yeah, we've spoken quite a bit. We hang out all the time. I get to talk to him a lot about playing at an elite level.

Q. What did he have to say?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not too much, just keeping working hard, keep doing what I'm doing.

Q. What's your thought process on 13? I'm just curious when you come off losing three holes, is that a hole, trying to get to that green ever crossed your mind?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it has, but it just doesn't ever work out well. Even if you hit a great shot -- like I think Alex hit in about as good a spot as you can hit it, and he didn't even hit the drive like he wanted to, he kind of hit a big slice and it just covered the water and stayed in the fairway there.

For me, I'm going to hit it -- if I hit a great shot it's going to land on the green and go over the back. And it's just a really hard up and down. I feel like I've got a better chance from wedging it from the fairway, where I hit my shot from.

Q. Did you try to hit that pin any time this week?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. I did last year in the practice rounds. And after that I just -- there's just no reason. So ever since then I've laid up every time.

Q. You've got to pick one of these in regards to your game. What are you more proud of, the power you have off the tee with the driver or the precision and accuracy with your wedge game right now?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: My wedges. My wedges are -- I've worked hard on them. I've spent a lot of time working on my wedges for the last year or more. And so that's one I'm proud of that, I'm going to keep working on them. You can't be too good with one.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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