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THE 146TH OPEN

July 21, 2017

Zach Johnson

Southport, England

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, it was. It was really, really good. I mean, I mis-clubbed on 16, I guess. I was on the green but I was probably 90 some feet away from the hole and three-putted. But other than that. I didn't birdie the par-5s, it's not like I missed an easy opportunity, I just didn't execute a couple of shots there.

But today was -- today was solid. I made a nice par on 1, and then after that I think I might have hit one errant shot, if you really want to try to pick it apart. Complete opposite of yesterday, clearly. I guess my saving grace last night was I can't get any worse, one.

2, I made a nice 6-footer for bogey on 18. That was kind of what led me -- I had a great range session. I called my coach, nothing overly specific, when it gets down to it, it's not like you can reinvent yourself in a day's time.

Just a great rhythm out there today. I guess the other factor that just hit me is this is the wind I essentially practised in. I didn't have really too many opportunities to play yesterday's wind. So golf -- it's just golf. I can't really explain it.

Q. Did you work on anything on the range?
ZACH JOHNSON: I was hitting a lot of shots left, even the ones that I was trying to hold or start right were starting straight to left, and that's not good. That's not a good combination. I like my little draw, but you've got to be able to hit both shots, and today I did. But there's just a couple of fundamental things I was working on. I was falling back on it, on my downswing, which leads to unsolid shots, and tends to lead to a thin slash left shot, and specifically on my longer clubs.

So just kept my head still more, stayed behind it but kept my head still. There were so many positives today. I don't know where to start. It was fun. It was a lot of fun.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: Yes, I mean, you know, I don't -- I'm not one to say that the pressure should be on him at any moment. So that's not necessarily fair to him. I definitely feel like there's been times in the past where I've had similar days, where I played poor and played good or played good and played poor, whatever, and he's able to pinpoint one or two things, because we've been together for so long. That's certainly a luxury of having the same guy forever. Whether it's fundamental, whether it's -- the basic little things, you're lining up here, your head is moving there, or whatever the case may be. There's certainly a trust level and an experience level with each other.

Q. Anything yesterday that he was able to say to you?
ZACH JOHNSON: I mean, I think the helpful thing -- it's not fair to him, not say fair -- it's not his responsibility to try to pinpoint what's going wrong out there on a day like yesterday. To me the sign of a great caddie is one that's just like, "Stay in it. Get this one up and down. Just keep grinding." And that's what I do, I grind.

But I made a great bogey on 18. My second shot had to go backwards out of the trap. And then a two-putt off the green, it was six feet I made for bogey. Times like that. My third shot was a 7-iron -- it should have been an 8. He's like, "Just hit a quality shot. Just hit a good shot." Just sticking to the present, I think he does a pretty good job of that.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: I was upset, so I don't know if it was necessarily a boost. I finished that tournament very poorly. And I was playing good, obviously, going into it. So I don't know if it necessarily gave me a boost.

And the other factor, I think I mentioned it to you yesterday, and it's not that big of a deal but yet there's a comfort level, I cracked my driver on Tuesday this week. Last week I drove it great, obviously I drove it okay. And then cracking your driver on a major championship week when you have some comfort level isn't exactly ideal. So the one I've got I think is very good. It's not like it's that much different. But everything is different. I can't tell a difference in golf balls but you give me any different iron, club, there's a difference.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, part of it was my range session yesterday. After my round, I went to the range and hit a lot of drivers. And hit a lot of good ones, too, so that was key. I got mad, too, which was good. I let it out. I was upset. But I'm not -- I wasn't furious and bouncing off the walls. I was just upset with my performance, because I felt great coming into the week.

Like you said, I played decent last week. I didn't have any expectations, whatever expectations I had were -- that doesn't make sense. I had mildly good expectations coming into this week. I love this tournament.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: I feel good. What I do know is that based on the last two days, you never know what is going to happen tomorrow. But hopefully there's some confidence, momentum for the rest of the weekend. And I hope -- it would be a shame if it poured and blew a little harder, it would be a crying shame.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, I don't think he necessarily said anything like that. I'm a realist, I'm pretty practical the way I approach things. I think in life in general. So I know I can do better. My saving grace yesterday was I guess it could be worse, but it can't be a whole lot worse, specifically with my preparation. I trust what I'm doing. My sports psychologist is here, too, so we talked it over a little bit. You've got to rehash it, good and bad. Just a clean slate. I just put it behind me and plugged along.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: Yeah, I don't know any other mentality. I don't know how you would coin it or describe it or what adjective you would use to overly personify it. But I just don't mind grinding. I don't mind having my back against the wall and having to fight. That's just what I've always done.

That being said, when it's going well I can probably ride the momentum. And when it's bad I'll blow up. I'm not suggesting it's going to end up the way I want but I'm going to try. I just like competition, it's what fuels me.

Yeah, Brian knows me well. We're good buddies. Live on the same island, obviously. And we have a lot in common in that regard. He's very similar. He just had a couple too many injuries, unfortunately. But similar mentalities.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: I mean, for 18 holes in a major championship, yeah, Monday at St. Andrews was probably better, now that I think about it. This one's top five, put it that way. I'd have to really think about that one. It's definitely in there.

Q. (Inaudible.)
ZACH JOHNSON: Hopefully not many. It would be a shame.

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