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RBC CANADIAN OPENJuly 29, 2018Dustin JohnsonOakville, Ontario, Canada Q. Dustin, congratulations. 1th tour win at the RBC Canadian Open. How much does this win mean this week particularly after the missed cut last week? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, even after the missed cut last week, I felt like I was hitting it fine. I just did not score very well at Carnoustie at all. I didn't putt good. I just scored really badly. But I hit the ball -- I felt like I hit the ball plenty good enough to be under par after two days, and I was 5-over or something. It was just bad scoring. So I worked on it a little bit this week. I felt like even coming in here, I felt like I was swinging it well, doing everything really well. I needed to work on the putter though, which I did. Started rolling the putter a lot better here this week. You know, really, really hit the ball well all four days. Q. Yeah, I thought your ball striking tee to green was good. The putting was good. You worked on that. Obviously Paulina has ties to Canada. I mean, you win the RBC Canadian Open, you're an RBC ambassador, it's got to mean something pretty special? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it definitely means a lot. Signing with RBC this year, and coming up here to the RBC Canadian Open and winning, especially on a golf course where I've had success, it means a lot. Obviously having a lot of ties to Canada with Paulina, her dad, Wayne, who, thanks to him, I get a lot of fans out here, so it makes it a lot more fun playing out here in front of a big crowd. I had a lot of support this week, and it was a lot of fun. Q. You get the third win of the season, you pad the FedExCup points. Congratulations, see you next week. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Thank you. THE MODERATOR: We'll get started here with Dustin Johnson, champion of the 2018 RBC Canadian Open. Dustin picked up his third win of the season, and 19th of his career. Dustin, if we could get a couple comments about the victory. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it was definitely a very good win. I'm very proud of the way I played today. I knew I was going to have to go out and play really well. There were a lot of guys, lot of really good players right around the lead, within a couple shots of the lead. This golf course, if you can get it going, you can shoot some low scores out here. I knew I was going to have to go out and play very well if I wanted to win today. Q. You came into the week number one in the FedExCup, and picking up 500 points here extends your lead. How important is that as we approach the FedExCup playoffs? They're only a couple weeks away. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, well, I have two events before the playoffs start, so it's definitely big. Anytime you can build your lead in the FedExCup points, it's very good. I'm jockeying for position going into Atlanta, and obviously right now I'm in a very good position. I'm going to have to continue to play well though if I want to be in that number one spot heading into Atlanta for the Tour Championship. Q. Starting the day tied for the lead with three other guys, how critical was it to get off to a quick start with a couple birdies and set the pace? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it was definitely good to get off to a fast start. I had birdied the first hole, and then had a really good look at eagle on the second hole. That's definitely always good, especially when the leaderboard is so bunched up. But I knew if I could get off to a good start and continue to play well, I just needed to get out in front. If I could get ahead, I felt like I could play well and keep myself in the lead for the rest of the day, which I did. I got off to a great start. Played a really nice, solid front nine. Gave myself a lot of opportunities. Hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in too, but still played a really solid front nine. Q. Congrats on the win. You've spoken about the fans all week. I just wanted to hear your thoughts on what it was like walking up 18 and hearing that roar from the crowd? You really are loved here in Canada. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it was great all week. I had a lot of support out there, lot of fans following me with my ties to Canada, with Paulina and her dad being Wayne Gretzky, it definitely helps. I get a lot of fans that pull for Wayne, they pull for me. So it was a lot of fun out there this week. I thought I had a lot of support. It definitely helps. It's a lot of fun to play out there for a big crowd. Q. First of all, congratulations. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Thank you. Q. Kind of building off that question, I'm sure you heard the crowd chanting, Let's go DJ. But did you hear them singing Oh, Canada to you as well? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I did hear a couple times them singing Oh, Canada. But, yeah, the fans were great. This whole week there was a lot of support for the RBC. I can't thank them enough for coming out and supporting this event. I was very pleased to see the crowds out there. Q. Do you feel like an honorary Canadian yet? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Absolutely, for sure. Especially with the amount of support I get when I come up here. It's been great. Everyone's been great to me. Yeah, I definitely felt like an honorary Canadian. Q. You now have more wins than Tiger Woods in the past ten years. What are breaking some of his records -- what does that mean to you and your legacy? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I haven't really thought about it until you just asked me. Obviously I'm doing something very well. I feel like I've been working hard and trying to improve my game and get better and obviously win some more. To even be mentioned in the same sentence as Tiger means a lot. What he's done for the game, the things he's done in the game, no one is ever going to really -- I don't think anyone's ever going to get to that level. The way he played for that ten-year stretch was just incredible. But, yeah, just to be mentioned in the same sentence, I'm very pleased with that. Q. What was it like to play with Tiger between 2008 and 2013, because you were a great player yourself, but you had to watch him completely dominate the sport, and now you're kind of enjoying your time in the sun? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I got to play with a him quite a few times. Yeah, he was very impressive. You know, kind of motivated myself to want to get to that level and get better. I've definitely improved my game in the last, you know, few years. I'm going to continue to try to improve. It's a game where there's always room for improvement. And that's one thing I do love about this game no matter how good you are, you can be better at certain things in this game. Q. A lot has been made about your connection to Wayne Gretzky, of course. What do you think his thoughts are of you winning this title? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I'm sure he's excited. I've gotten quite a few texts from him so far. They were watching all day to day. I get a lot of support from Wayne, and I know he's definitely very pleased that I've won the Canadian Open. Q. We saw you earlier this week in a Wayne Gretzky jersey, so we know your skill as a hockey player -- DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not very good. Q. What are his skills as a golfer, Wayne? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Wayne's pretty good. He can play all right. He can get around the course just fine. He's a decent player. Q. Yesterday you spoke about maybe a little bit extra motivation to win what is almost assuredly the last Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. Now that you've done that, what are your thoughts on that particular aspect of this achievement? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, it's never going to be back here. So it was big for me to get the win here. I like this golf course a lot. I felt like I've been so close here a couple times. So to get it done here, knowing I was tied with -- there were four of us tied for the lead, I knew I was going to have to go out and play a good round of golf if I wanted to win. For me to come out and play really solid, play the way I did, I'm very proud of that and I'm very pleased with the win. Q. Secondly, maybe the most iconic hole here at Glen Abbey is No. 11. And you birdied it three out of the four days. I think you're the only player in the top 12 to birdie it today. Can you just take us through how you were so successful on that hole, and how important that particular birdie was today after the lead had shrunk to, I think, 1 at the time? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, well, the 11th hole, the biggest thing is hitting it on the fairway. It's a very tough drive. I think I hit 3-wood every day, which I haven't done in the past, I don't think. It seems like I hit a lot of drivers there. But this year I hit 3-wood every day, and hit the fairway. Then from there I had just a sand wedge or a lob wedge in, and that makes a big difference coming into that hole if you can come off the fairway. I hit a lot of great wedge shots. I think the only day I didn't birdie was yesterday, and I had a pretty good look at it. But, yeah, that's a tough hole. It's one that you can make a birdie or you can make a double. I definitely played it very well this week. Q. You mentioned at Carnoustie your mental game not being where you would like it to be, and you made some adjustments. Can you describe what those mental adjustments are? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I just wasn't focused. I just thought about after I missed the cut I was just thinking like -- I felt like I played -- I was swinging well, I was hitting good shots, I was doing everything well enough to be under par after two days, but I was 5- or 6-over. It was just -- I just wasn't focused. I don't know if I had trouble sleeping. I don't know what it was, I just knew I wasn't focused. So I knew this week coming out from the first hole I was just going to make sure I focused on every shot and really thought about what I was doing and where I wanted to hit the ball. I did a good job of that every shot for the whole tournament. Q. That was more or less what I was going to ask, but maybe to reiterate, is that just golf one week to the next? I mean it seems to shoot 23-under after missing the cut -- DUSTIN JOHNSON: Like I said, I didn't feel like I was playing bad. There wasn't anything I needed to fix. I needed to work on the putting a little bit, which I did, and started rolling it better. But the golf game, I felt like I said before, I felt like I was hitting it fine. I felt like I was hitting it good enough to even be in contention. I just -- I mean, it was the worst I've ever scored, and the only thing I could come up with was I really wasn't focused on the shots and focused on what I was trying to do. Q. I talked to Claude after the win was confirmed, and he said when you're playing your best, your hard to beat? Do you feel the same? Is there anyone on the PGA TOUR that can beat you when you're playing your best? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. That's a hard question to answer. I would definitely like to play against whoever it is when I'm playing my best. But, yeah, there are a lot of guys, especially there are quite a few top guys where if they're playing their best, I'm going to have a hard time beating them. Same with me, if I'm playing my best, yeah, it's going to be very tough. Q. Are wins now that you're a father a little sweeter than before? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, every win is sweet. But to be able to share it with my family is definitely important and definitely means a lot more. Especially I talked to Paulina a little while ago and they were watching from home. So it's always cool to hear that your little man's watching you on TV. Q. Are Paulina and Wayne together right now or are they separate? DUSTIN JOHNSON: (Inaudible). Q. Early in the week Lee Trevino mentioned anytime you can win a national open it's something special. How do you feel about that? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it's definitely special. This is a special event. Being part of Team RBC and being the Canadian Open, having ties to Canada, it's their national open, yeah, I mean, it's a big event. It's a big event for Canada. It's a big event for me. Every win is very special, but this one is definitely a little bit more special. Q. Next year we're down the road at Hamilton. One of the best golf courses in the country. Have you played it before? Are you familiar with the golf course? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I have not. I hear good things. I'm looking forward to seeing it though and playing it next year. Q. Standing on 16th tee you had to like your chances, and then there is the tee shot and you see it going left. Just wondering what your thoughts were when you saw it going into the forest on the left? DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, there was never any worry. I just didn't want to be in the rough, especially to that pin. It was going to be tough to get it close. I just hit it off the bottom, it came out low. If I hit it solid, it gets up in the air a little bit, it carries, it probably gets out on the fairway there. But, I mean, yeah, it was a bad drive. That's a pretty wide fairway. I shouldn't have missed it. I hit a good one on 18. THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the victory, Dustin. Best of luck the rest of the season. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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