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THE 148TH OPEN

July 16, 2019

Dustin Johnson

Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

OLIVIA McMILLAN: First of all, I'd like to welcome Dustin Johnson into the interview room.

We just heard you having a little laugh that you like trophies. The one you'd like this week is the Claret Jug, I'm sure. How do you rate your chances this week?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: The game feels like it's in good form the last few days. I got over here Saturday. I played the course a few times.

I think it's a really good golf course. It's in good shape. I think it's playing very, very fair, but it's quite difficult. Obviously depending on the weather. But even with no wind it still requires you to hit real quality golf shots if you want to shoot a good score.

Q. What makes you the most nervous about this golf course?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Can you elaborate on that a little bit?

Q. What do you consider to be the most troublesome part of this golf course?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, there's a few holes that are -- there's a few really good drives. I think 4 is a good driving hole. It all depends. If you're driving it well, obviously you can play this course. I think you can shoot some good scores. 8, 9, 10, 11 are very good holes. You take a lot of pars there.

But it just all depends. On any of them if you hit good drives -- for me, I'm coming in with pretty short clubs. For me it's going to be all about driving it well. I get to hit a lot of drivers.

I like the golf course because, depending on the wind, you're going to hit a lot of different clubs on every hole, depending on the wind direction. You have options. You can kind of challenge it and get it down it there if you're driving it well or you can leave it back and play it a little longer hole.

Q. Do you like the look of 16?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it's going to be a good hole, especially if the wind switches, like it's supposed to, and it's going to play into the wind. It's a nice par-3. But yeah, it definitely has a nice look to it.

Q. You've obviously played the course a few times. I wanted to ask you about how you've played 17 in the wind that you've played.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's been playing downwind. So downwind I like hitting driver and obviously it's pretty narrow, the spot you've got to hit it if you want to get it on the green.

Q. (Inaudible.)
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I have not hit it on the green. But I hit it down there just short, which is fine. So it just all depends on the wind direction.

But I like attacking it there. Obviously keeping it up the right side is a little better than left. It kind of all depends on pin placements. A lot of these holes, depending on where the flag is, is how close you want to be to the green or not.

Q. Have you got much advice from playing with Graeme to point you in the right direction?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it was nice to go around with Graeme. And obviously he grew up playing golf here. He's been around here quite a few times. And just to play with him and kind of talk to him a little bit about the golf holes and maybe which ones are the difficult holes and which ones -- certain pin positions that are hard on some of the holes.

So it was nice to go around with someone that knows the course very well.

Q. Have you played many practice rounds with Graeme?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not too many, but, yeah, we've played a few.

Q. Did you purposefully arrange this one or was it just by chance?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I landed about noon on Saturday and then went and changed and came out to the course and we just -- we were playing and I think I ran into him on 3. So I played with him from there on in.

But, yeah, I just happened to bump into Graeme.

Q. Off the golf course, since this Open so different from the other majors, do you find yourself spending much time in town?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I've not been into town yet. We've got a house right up on the hill here, right behind the course.

Q. What's the address? I'm just kidding.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't even know it, so I couldn't tell you.

Q. In previous Opens have you ever stayed close enough to town where you can get out and mingle much?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: St. Andrews. I stayed in The Old Course Hotel and walked into town a few times. But that's kind of the only one we've kind of been in the town.

Then last year at Carnoustie I stayed at the hotel right there at the course. But, yeah, I got out and walked around a little bit.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Just before we finish we have a presentation to Dustin from the Official World Golf Rankings. Peter Dawson is going to present Dustin from 2018 for the most number of weeks at the No. 1.

PETER DAWSON: Ladies and gentlemen, I won't keep you more than a moment. Since 1998, a trophy has been presented annually to the player who's spent most weeks in the World No. 1 position.

The trophy, very handsome it is, too, is named after Mark McCormack, whose vision it was that played such a major part in the original creation of the rankings. Past recipients, and there aren't many of them, are: Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day, and Dustin himself won this award in 2017. And he's repeated the performance in 2018 with 35 weeks at World No. 1.

Dustin, it's my great pleasure on behalf of the board of the Official Golf Rankings to present to you with the 2018 McCormack Award. Many, many congratulations.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Thank you.

(Applause.)

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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