THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY NATIONWIDE

July 14, 2020

Dustin Johnson

Muirfield Village

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Dustin Johnson to the interview room here at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. You're making your 12th start here at the Memorial with top 10s in two of your last three starts. Obviously a near and dear place to a lot of players, I'm sure yourself included. Just a few thoughts on being back here at Muirfield Village this week.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a golf tournament and a golf course that I really enjoy playing. Obviously Jack does a great job here. Like I said, I enjoy coming here. I enjoy playing this golf course. I've had some success here, not as much success as I would like to, but I'm really looking forward to it this year, obviously coming off a win a couple weeks ago, and I feel like the game is in good form.

THE MODERATOR: Speaking of that win in Hartford at the Travelers Championship, your 21st TOUR win, what have you done on and off the course in the past couple weeks since getting in a win?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I took a few days off, went and did a little bit of fishing and hung out with the family, and yeah, started practicing a good bit getting ready for this week, the past eight or nine days.

Q. I just wonder, you're obviously just coming off a couple weeks off. Tiger comes here not having played competitive golf in five months. I'm kind of curious how difficult you think that is to come back and be in good form with that much time off, and knowing Tiger the way you do, what might you expect out of him this week with that layoff?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, obviously it's tough to simulate competition, but if anybody will be ready to play after not playing for five months, I think Tiger will be. I don't think he would come back and play this week if he wasn't ready.

Q. When you've had some layoff time, what's the most difficult thing to come back when you're trying to recapture your form?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: For me it's mostly the mental game, really, is the hardest, just to get into competition mode and to remember you're playing in a golf tournament and not just at home playing for fun. You know, just to obviously play in a competition, you think a little bit differently than you do when you're just out there slapping it around with your buddies.

Q. I know you were asked this at the Travelers Championship, but Tiger was just talking about the idea that without fans on a Sunday afternoon when you're in contention that you maybe don't feel the pressure like you normally would. He specifically talked about Morikawa on Sunday in a playoff where you start to feel the nerves and it adds something to it. Is there anything to that in your mind?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. For me coming down the stretch on Sunday at the Travelers felt exactly the same as if there would have been a million people or none, like it was. It still means something. It's still a big tournament. It's a PGA TOUR event, and you know everyone at home is watching.

You could feel it for sure. I definitely did. It felt the same as it normally does.

Q. How is your knee? Is it 100 percent or close to it?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it feels really good, no issues. It's not 100 percent, but it's probably 90.

Q. When was the last time it was 100?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know, early last year. I don't know, two years ago. I have no idea. It's almost there, though. It feels good; I know that.

Q. You're one of those guys who's often talked about as having that extra gear of distance or power when you need it. I'm curious what would happen if you went full bore on all of your tee shots like Bryson seems to be doing?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I'd probably hurt something. That's why I don't do it. And I wouldn't find half of them (laughing).

Q. You would be off the planet?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I mean, I don't know. When I'm on the range sometimes I'll start hitting them hard just for fun, and I generally hit them pretty straight. But it's different when you're on a wide driving range than when you're on the golf course and you've got to hit it into a pretty narrow fairway.

Q. As a follow-up, seeing what he's been able to do, does it make you curious at all to experiment and try and hit it further during a tournament?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, not as of right now. I feel like my game and where it's at and how far I hit it is far enough, and until I feel like I need to hit it further to compete or beat these guys, then that's what I'll do. But for right now, I feel like if I'm playing my game, he can hit it as far as he wants to, and I don't think he's going to beat me.

Q. I don't view you as a guy that reflects a lot, but when you look back at what you did with that 21st win and the consecutive years that you've won on TOUR, at least one event on TOUR, how proud are you of that, just being able to sustain like that? You're in a pretty small group of elite company. Have you had any time to reflect on that and what does that mean to you in terms of your accomplishments and things you've done?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, it means a lot. I think it's a big achievement and it shows a lot to my game. It's held up for a long time, and it's going to continue to, I hope. But yeah, I mean, I'm definitely very proud of it.

THE MODERATOR: DJ, thanks for your time, and best of luck this week.