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SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 2, 2019

Dustin Johnson

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii

JACK RYAN: We would like to welcome Dustin Johnson to the interview room here at the 2019 Sentry Tournament of Champions. Dustin won three times during the 2017-2018 season, including the first one he picked up here. So an opening comment on making another start at Kapalua.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, obviously you've done okay if you're playing here for the first week of the year, and it's a place where I enjoy coming to every year and obviously strive to get back once I'm here. I've had a lot of success here. I like the golf course, I feel like I play it pretty well, and yeah, I'm looking forward to this year.

JOHN BUSH: Take some questions out here.

Q. When people are, like Charles Howell would be a good example, and hasn't been here in 11 years and talks about how hard it is to win and I'm sure you agree with that, but your record would suggest that to you it's not all that hard to win. How do you convince people that it is when you keep winning so much?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well if it wasn't as hard I would win more. I mean, so, yeah, it is difficult. There's so many good players on the PGA TOUR. Any week any guy that's playing in the field's got a chance to win and so it's just difficult to win. For me, yeah, if it was easier, yeah, I would win a lot more. But I work hard at it and I feel like I should have a few more wins, but so should everyone else. But, yeah, like you ask anybody out here, it's hard to win.

Q. Do you ever take winning for granted?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. I don't. That's why I'm out here, that's why I play golf, and that's why I practice. That's the best part about playing this game is when you do win.

Q. With the changes to the schedule starting this year, was it more difficult maybe to set your schedule this year and was it -- I think you're playing two in the Middle East kind of in January, were those hard additions, considering how condensed the schedule is?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, well for me it's not really. I'm really not playing any different schedule. It's, for me it kind of lined up pretty much the same. Really the only, obviously having the PGA earlier and THE PLAYERS earlier is the only real difference. But I like the schedule, I think they did a good job with it. I'm excited to play THE PLAYERS in March and with it overseeded. I've never played it. Obviously seen it on TV when they used to play it in March. So I'm really looking forward to that, because I like the golf course, but it just seems like in May all the time it just, it doesn't, I don't know, it just doesn't set up that great for me playing really firm and fast.

Q. Was it hard to add the two events in the Middle East, considering how condensed the schedule is?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, a little bit. But I'm still going to go.

Q. Can't imagine why.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I can think of a few reasons.

Q. Probably a few million. But anyway, really following up on the schedule, how do you think the majors set up for you, obviously Augusta, but Pebble Beach probably you're excited for a U.S. Open there and I don't know if you know anything about Portrush and then Bethpage. Of course it's not that order anymore so I got to work through that.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Right. I like all the venues we're playing this year. So, yeah, I think the majors set up well for me. Obviously I'm going to have to play very well if I want to contend, but I like all the venues and yeah, I'm excited about the, I'm excited to see how the schedule's going to work this year.

Q. How does it feel to have the greatest shot in golf history?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Sure. I don't know about that, but it was good. It was a good shot. Yeah.

Q. I know you joked about it there at the start but have you paid any attention to the rules changes or how much effort have you put into looking at what the changes will be?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I actually just looked at it for like a minute upstairs before I came down. They've got a big poster in the locker room. Yeah.

Q. Austin? Has he had instruction --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I had one of the TOUR officials do a printout that I'm going to give to him to study later on today.

Q. How is that going to go?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Probably not very well.

(Laughter.)

But I'm going to have to look at it a little bit.

Q. So you're not expecting there to be too much?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I mean I looked over all of them. It's not, it's really not much different. Probably the biggest thing I think is being able to leave the flag in, the new and then the drop heights. But which, yeah, I'm sure there's going to be a few guys getting penalties. I don't know if it's a penalty if it's on the first drop or if like if you play it. I need to ask somebody. No, if you dropped it like normal.

Q. Apparently it is. Well you can re-drop if you do it before you hit.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Okay. So if you dropped it and then hit it would be the penalty.

Q. Yes.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Okay.

Q. It could be a two-stroke penalty if it rolls outside of that range.
You did mention the flag stick though I'm assuming you're going to keep taking it out?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I'm going to take it out.

Q. But you do have the privilege of being the first person to play with Bryson who will be leaving it in.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it's going to be weird because the flag's going to be going in and out a lot. But it's all right. I mean it's not bad. If you got a real long putt or something I might leave it instead of having the caddie stand there and tend it I'll just leave it in. So I guess I will leave it in occasionally. Or if you know it's sometimes if you hit one up there, it's always awkward trying to take the flag out. You can just tap it in.

Q. I'll change tact here for everyone's benefit, but is there a person you can pinpoint in your inner circle over your golf career that has been, I guess, has made a huge sacrifices or done something that you now look back and think, I'm very thankful that they have been part of my journey?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean everybody on my team I'm very thankful to have. I think I have a great team around me and I definitely wouldn't be where I'm at without all of them.

Q. Have you played, in your practice rounds, the new tee on 4?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah.

Q. How is it different for you, if at all?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean it's just a lot longer.

Q. Club selection. What would be an example of what you would hit?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I hit driver. I used to hit 3-wood usually off the tee and now I hit driver. And it's -- but the whole golf course is playing a lot longer this year just because it's so soft, the ball's not rolling at all. But, yeah, I mean I've hit driver, 6-iron. I hit one the first time I played it, driver, 8-iron.

Q. Some wind into you?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah and in off the left.

Q. You kind of touched on what I was going to ask about the golf course being slow. You played here a lot. Have you ever seen it this slow?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, this is the softest and slowest I've ever seen it.

Q. Is the second shot on 18 a good example of that, how you used to be able to -- is doesn't look like guys are running it in like they have?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It just won't roll enough. But even the tee shot's not getting down near as far as it usually does.

Q. This may seem like a silly question but are you happy with last year?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I'm okay with it. I feel like I had a good year, just I didn't have, I would like to have had a little better performance in the majors, but other than that I feel like my year was good. I had a lot of chances to win. I won three times and a lot of top-10s. So it was a solid year. I just didn't contend in the majors like I wanted to.

Q. Just off the back of that, last year one of the questions that we asked you was if a 7 or 8 win season was still possible or likely and you said yes, and then you went on and won. You still, obviously you had three last year, do you still feel like you could have potentially been five more, if you have had your foot down?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean I had a lot of chances to win, a lot of good chances to win too last year that I didn't capitalize on, but it's still a pretty good year. If I could win three times for the rest of my career I'll be happy.

Q. Is there any one major venue you're looking forward to more than the other three, Pebble Beach perhaps or?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, I always like Pebble, so definitely looking forward to playing there and I look forward to all the majors though.

Q. On Pebble what do you recall about how that was for the U.S. Open compared with your other times at the AT&T?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well it's firm and fast.

Q. Is that all it takes?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean that's only, really the only difference is it's firm and fast compared to soft. So it's just, with those greens being so small and getting them really fast, it plays a lot more difficult.

Q. They roll any better?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, they roll fine. I think they roll fine all the time.

Q. Firm and fast compared with spongy, footprints?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think they always roll good. If you hit it solid, the ball rolls just fine.

Q. If you hit the putter solid.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah.

JACK RYAN: Well, as always we appreciate the time, Dustin, best of luck this week.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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