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THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDEMay 31, 2017Dustin JohnsonDublin, Ohio JOEL SCHUCHMANN: We'd like to welcome Dustin Johnson. Thanks for joining us. Can you start with opening comments about coming back to Jack's place. DUSTIN JOHNSON: I've always enjoyed looking forward to coming to it. The golf course is always in perfect condition, which it is again this year. It's always fun to play golf courses when they're this nice. And the greens are just absolutely perfect. It's a golf course I like. I think it sets up well for me and I enjoy playing. Q. Last year a lot has changed since you left The Memorial the last year. The year that you have gone through and enjoyed, what has been the driving force of getting to where you are right now? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, last year I think leaving here I played very, very well in pretty much every event I played in all year. And just hadn't won. And then I went again to Memphis the next week and finished second or third, I can't remember. And then obviously I won the U.S. Open the week after that. But I was playing really solid, really consistently from here, and then leading into the U.S. Open. For me it was just a matter of time before I kind of put it all together. But, yeah, since then I've obviously -- winning the U.S. Open gave me a lot of confidence and worked hard on the game ever since then. I felt like it's been pretty solid ever since the U.S. Open last year. Q. You mentioned this golf course fits your game pretty well. Most golf courses do seem to fit your game pretty well these days. Can you tell those of us who haven't played this course a little bit about it? Does it favor a right-to-left, left-to-right, bomber? What is it about this course? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't think it favors -- you can kind of hit any shot you want to pretty much off the tees. You can shape it either way. So whatever kind of fits your eye. This golf course, it's all about -- you've got to hit it in the fairway, but the fairways are fairly generous. But then you've got to hit good iron shots and control your distance to leave yourself kind of uphill putts, because these greens are really fast. If you hit it in the wrong spot on the greens, you've got tough putts. But it seems like I get -- if I'm driving it well or getting a lot of wedges, I can hit it close. Q. What's the best piece of advice you got from your dad about golf growing up? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not real sure, but growing up with playing at the golf course with my dad, most of all just kind of watching, watching him and the better players at the club growing up, that's what I did. But I think he taught me most -- probably the biggest thing I learned from him would be controlling my attitude. I can't really say the words that he probably said (laughter) -- Q. Because he was good at it? DUSTIN JOHNSON: It was just something -- he didn't put up with it, pitching a fit on the course or throwing clubs, anything like that. That was not acceptable, especially because anything I did reflected on him. I might have done it a few times, but he straightened me out pretty quick. Q. Can you recall any examples? DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, that was so long ago I can't remember. I'd have to think about it. I'll think about it and get back to you. Q. What's the best piece of advice Austin's ever given to you, and what's he bring to you on the bag? What's the best part of having him on the bag? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, the best part about having my brother on the bag is just getting to experience everything that we've got to experience the last few years together, traveling, traveling the world and obviously winning some golf tournaments. Just to be able to share those experiences with my brother has been awesome. And obviously he's -- he was a good player growing up and then he kind of played basketball. But he's always played golf, even when he wasn't playing basketball. So he's a decent player. And so for him it took a little bit of -- to learn what to do and what not to do. The biggest thing about being a caddie is knowing your player, knowing what to say to them, what not to say or when to leave them alone and not say anything. No one knows me better than my brother. Q. What would you say is the gap between you as a golfer and him as a golfer and him as a basketball player and you as a basketball player? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Pretty similar, I guess. No, I think the gap in golf would be a little bit more than the gap in basketball (laughter). Q. I know you've talked a lot this last year about wanting to get from good to being a great player, to where you are now. I'm wondering -- I know he can't help you in the golf game at all swinging clubs, but being around Wayne Gretzky, who was the greatest in his sport, mentally was he able to help you? Did you have conversations about golf and what it takes to succeed at the highest level in sports? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, definitely being around him I've learned a lot. And just how hard he worked at it to become who he was and how great he was. He worked harder than everyone else. He practiced more and worked harder, if not just as hard as everyone else in the game. So that's why he was so good. And just listening to him tell stories and talk about what he did growing up definitely has helped. Q. Has he helped you as far as -- I think I saw the thing about getting over the U.S. Open last year mentally, getting back on the right path? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think it bothered him more than it did me. But for me it wasn't anything to get over. I remember we got in the car after the round and he goes dead silent, no one is saying a word. I turned around and I'm like, Guys, it's just a golf tournament. But they were more upset about it than I was. Q. I don't know if you know but the group that designed Erin Hills, which is coming up for the U.S. Open pretty soon, is right here out of Dublin. How much time have you spent there and how does it fit your game? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I've not seen it. I don't know anything about it. I'm going to go out there Monday and Tuesday. Q. On Monday, there's a sectional qualifier, 36 holes. Obviously you're already in the U.S. Open, but thinking back to -- way back, way back before you qualified automatically for these things, did you have any fun experiences or not very fun experiences with that 36-hole sectional? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I actually played -- it was here, I think it was my rookie year after The Memorial, I went and played -- we played the Ohio State course and Lakes or Brookside, I can't remember which one it was -- but, yeah, we went in like a 12-man playoff for like eight spots or something. And maybe one guy got out after the first hole, a couple after the second hole. We were playing No. 9, this is at Ohio State, and it was -- I mean, it was dark. But we were trying to get in as many holes, because nobody wanted to come back at 7:00 a.m. the next day to finish the playoff. And I made about a -- I remember I hit a good shot. I could kind of see the flag and my ball started right at it, so I figured it was going to be pretty good, but I couldn't see anything because it was dark. And I think I had about a 12-footer and I made it, thank God, because then I didn't have to come back the next day. And that was the only time I ever had to qualify. Q. (No microphone.) DUSTIN JOHNSON: At that point I think we were. Before I think we were split up into two groups, because there were so many people. But the first group would play and then have to wait for the second group to finish the hole before they could go on. It took a while. It was a long day, that's for sure. Q. Do you remember what year that was? DUSTIN JOHNSON: It would have been '08. Q. Where is the U.S. Open trophy and what's kind of the coolest thing you've done with it over the course of the year? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I sent it back to the USGA. That was a couple of weeks ago. But right after I won the U.S. Open, I went to the Bahamas with it. That's about the only -- and then I took it up to -- took it to my junior tournament, Myrtle Beach, in February. Other than that it's sat in the house. Well, I took it out to Sherwood, too. It was out there for like a week. Q. How is your approach to putting evolved in the last two years and how has your mentality changed? DUSTIN JOHNSON: To putting? Q. Putting, approaching the ball, what your mindset is when approaching the ball? DUSTIN JOHNSON: It hasn't really changed at all. What it is all the time, which is trying to obviously picking a line and speed and trying to hit it on that line. Other than that, I haven't really changed anything. Q. If the U.S. Open was just another tournament to break the silence in the car, what would be the -- two things, here, what would be the angriest you were after a tournament, just truly pissed, angry? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I was a little frustrated after Whistling Straits, PGA, for sure. But only for like ten minutes (laughter). And then I was a little pissed, too, angry -- I was a little frustrated after the British, St. Georges, just because I hit the wrong shot. It wasn't a surprise, though, because I'd put a 2-iron in that week and I'd hit it like four times, maybe five times throughout the tournament. And like three of them were good -- and one of them was that shot. So it wasn't like a surprise to me. But I should have just hit 3-wood, I would have been fine. Q. What's the longest anything has lingered? You mentioned ten minutes. If I recall, you're fishing the day after Pebble or Whistling, like golf after the day after Chambers. Do you take a sulk moment or does that exist? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. Probably the one -- the one that stung the most, but I wasn't like mad or -- was probably Pebble. But just more disappointed in my play. But I talked to Butch the next day and we kind of went through the round and obviously I got a little rattled and kind of just started going really fast. So it was a good learning experience, because later in the year was Whistling Straits. I was in the final group again on Sunday, and I played really well. That one probably stung the most just because I played so poorly. Q. When you talk about that car and the silence in the car, does that include Austin? DUSTIN JOHNSON: We had a full car. I think there was a bunch of people in there. Q. You said the thing about him is that he knows when to say something and when not to. Is that an occasion when maybe he was so disappointed that he didn't know what to say to you? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, he probably would have been more disappointed than I was. Because I didn't feel that there was anything to be disappointed about. I felt like I did what I was supposed to do, just unfortunately -- you could hit a good putt and it not go in just due to the greens. At that point there's not a lot of skill involved. Q. When you used Austin on your bag in Australia what were your expectations? You won the second week, right, with him? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yes. Q. If you had not won, would he still be on your bag? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I liked having my brother on the bag, so, yeah, I think so. Q. Did you think he would be as capable as he's proven to be? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, he's fairly intelligent (laughter). I figured he could handle carrying the bag and stepping off numbers and stuff. It's not rocket science. Q. Last year we were waiting for you to win, this year we kind of expect you to win. How do you deal in terms of where your game was last year going into The Open versus this year, which version of Dustin Johnson would it be if you guys were playing right now? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't think it's any different. Obviously earlier this year, before I injured myself, I was playing really well. Everything was just really solid. But it's getting back to where I feel like where I'm getting a lot more comfortable and a lot more confident in the game. But I feel like -- yeah, I feel like the game as far as from last year to this year is not really much difference. Q. You really dialed in the wedges. Is there something you were working on to get your game even better now? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I still continue to work on the same thing, which is just carry distance. I feel like if I can control the distance with my wedges I'm going to hit good shots. Q. When you were in high school or junior high or whatever growing up, so much athleticism around you, did you do nothing but sports in high school? Did you do any drama or anything else in high school? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I did. I took drama. But we had to take -- kind of had to take electives. And the drama teacher was cute, so -- (laughter). Q. Were you ever in any plays? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I was in middle school. I don't think I did any in high school. Q. What did you do? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Sang in the Christmas show and did the Newsies, a musical. Q. Any chance you'll sing for us now? DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, not a chance (laughter). That's for me when I'm in the car by myself. Q. There have been some questions about disappointment and your temper, that sort of thing. We heard a story yesterday about you, a match with Kevin Kisner when you were 14 years old, we'd like to hear your side of the story? DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's exactly how he told it. Yeah, we were playing, it was the last hole, I think I had a two-shot lead. And I was in the middle of the fairway and it was a par 5, couldn't reach it because it was into the wind. But I was in the middle of the fairway, he laid it up into the trees. And, yeah, somehow he hit -- he couldn't even see the flag because there was a big mound up front. Caught one of those thin and it was going about 8,000 miles an hour, hit the pin and went in. Then I hit a good shot, too, to about 15 feet and ended up 3-putting and losing the tournament by one. Yeah, it was an interesting way to finish. He already told the story, but it was exactly how he said it. Q. What about what your grandpa said? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I can't do it as good as Kevin did. But it sounded just like that (laughter). JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Dustin Johnson, thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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