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TOSHIBA CLASSIC

March 7, 2008

Mark Johnson

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA

DAVE SENKO: Great start, 7-under, 64. Maybe just talk a little about your day, and then we'll get your seven birdies and no bogeys and some questions.
MARK JOHNSON: It was a very good start. You know, I started out on the backside. No. 10 was my opening hole. Didn't hit a very good drive. Kind of shoved it and hit it in the right bunker off the tee. It was up towards the lip somewhat.
It was either a 5-iron or rescue 4-iron and tried to hit it off to the right a little bit and hook it in. I caught it mid-spin, and it caught the lip and went over towards the left bunker up towards the green. I had like 58 yards to the hole. I happened to knock it in, so that was a really nice little gift, you know. Got me going a little bit.
Then from there we played pretty solid all day. Then I birdied 10 and then I birdied 13, 14, and 15. I had an opportunity on 18. I hit a good drive down the middle of the fairway, and I hit a rescue 2-iron in there and just didn't quite catch it. Came up a little short, and hit my chip about 12 feet by the hole and just missed it.
But, you know, I birdied 1 and 2. I hit a rescue 3-iron off of 1 and hit it absolutely perfect. I had like 100 and -- I think I had 100 yards right on the number, and I hit it to about four and a half feet and knocked that in.
DAVE SENKO: What did you hit for your second?
MARK JOHNSON: Sand wedge. Then go to 2, I hit a real good drive, and I had about 115 yards to the hole. Hit a little pitching wedge, and hit it to about 25 feet short of the hole. Happened to knock that one in too, so that was nice.
Then I go to 3 and hit a really good tee shot. Kind of bounced off that slope on the right. Slipped right down the middle of the fairway, and I had like probably like 240 to the hole. I didn't like my lie. I wanted to go for it. I had a rescue club I probably could have got home with, so I chose to lay up.
Just, you know, I haven't been in this position a whole a lot. I was 6-under at that time and didn't want to get careless. If I would have had a nice lie I would have gone for it, but I hit a 7-iron down to position and then chipped the next one up to about 15 feet and made par.
Made par on 5 -- no, on 4. And 5, 6, 7, I had a really good opportunity I thought. 7, I hit a really good drive and it caught that tree on the right corner. Still had a wide open shot. I had about 103 yards total, and I had about a 15-footer and made a really good putt.
Just played a little bit too much break and it just never took. Then I go to 8 and I hit a 3-iron rescue club into 8, the Par 3. Hit a good shot. Stadler hit 4-iron in there, and I probably had about a 25-footer just past the hole. Probably broke a couple feet or so and happened to hit it dead center in the hole, which was very nice.
Then on 9, my finishing hole, I just pulled my drive over in the left trees a little bit and I had a little gap to go through. I had to keep it down, though. I hit a little 5-iron and laid back in my stance a little bit, because that is the highest iron I have in my bag is a 5-iron. So I hit a pretty good shot and got it on the fringe and had about a 20-footer just a pretty straight putt and just missed it to the right.
Ended up being a very solid day. I was very pleased how we played today. I don't know what it is, but it seems like I play pretty well here. I've had good memories. Thank God to Toshiba and Jeff who have given me a sponsor's exemption or I would have had to try to Monday qualify, and you never know what happens there. Sometimes you need some breaks, and we'll see what happens.
DAVE SENKO: What did you hit on No. 10 again?
MARK JOHNSON: Actually, I hit a 4-iron rescue club out of the bunker. Just pulled 'em a little bit and caught the lip and just -- had actually a pretty good lie. I was just, you know, just don't get off to a little rough start. It's the first hole.
Things haven't been going really well. I've struggled for the last year, actually a little bit longer than a year. It was nice to have that happen. It was a good boost.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARK JOHNSON: Absolutely. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd ever get back here again even to talk to you guys, because I haven't. It's been a long, probably year and a half. You know, I put a lot of pressure on myself and I expect a lot of high things. I just beat myself up a lot last year and the results showed it.
Anyhow, I had a buddy of mine come down and caddie for me that I played a lot of pro scratch tournaments with. The head professional up in a town called Arnold and Sequoia Woods Country Club. We've been friends for a lot of years and he knows my game pretty well.
He came down. I called him, because I wasn't sure when I would get in. When I did get in, a caddie that caddied for me last year, he needed to make a schedule and I had no idea when I'd get in.
I called Larry and asked him to come down and he came down, and we've been together starting on Sunday and try to figure things out and give me a little boost of morale. He knows how to get me motivated. I don't know what it is, but I seem to play very well with him, along with Newport Beach Country Club that's been very good to me.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARK JOHNSON: Well, I knew the scores were going low. I just did not like my lie. You know, I didn't want to do anything stupid, so I just committed and hit 7-iron down in front. I mean, I had a very good opportunity to knock it on, but I just didn't like my lie, so I didn't take the risk.
You know, because there's water down there in front and there's no sense giving things back when you can still knock it down there and make birdie. We didn't, but we still had a good opportunity. I just didn't want to let things start unraveling.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARK JOHNSON: Well, I need a high finish to keep on -- actually, I need to win. But to keep staying out here, because I'll have to go back in the same category to get sponsor's exemptions or finish top 10 or Monday qualify. That's not a good place to try to make a living out here, to be honest with you.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARK JOHNSON: Well, actually I got fortunate. I am going to have a sponsor's exemption at the AT&T at Valencia.

Q. Are you getting some of the same response from the gallery that you got a few years ago? Anybody remember you and yell, Beer Man, and all that?
MARK JOHNSON: Yeah, they were. I have a lot of friends from Southern California, and a lot of them came down. They believe in me, and they have been through some rough times. They've felt it as bad as I have.
I mean, the pain, you know, because it's been very frustrating. They keep saying, Hang in there; it'll turn around. But you never know if it's going to. Honestly, it was a very long struggle.
To be honest with you, I don't want to go back to those kind of numbers, because it's been honestly like 25 tournaments that I haven't shot under par in a whole event. You know, it's been a struggle.
You know, Dave Stockton has been very good to me. He's been working with me in the off-season and things, him and his son, Ronnie. They have been very good to me over the years. I have to give a lot of credit to him for, you know, trying to keep my morale up and stuff like that. He knew I was down in the dumps and they would all try to lift me back up.
I have another buddy, Tom McKnight, my best friend out here. We would go to dinner a lot. He knows I was struggling, but he would try to keep me motivated and stuff. It's been a battle, but I think hopefully we're back on track. Just to have a good tournament would be nice.

Q. Was the struggle more physical?
MARK JOHNSON: No. Actually, it was more mental, you know, and then I wouldn't trust it. I'd get out there on the golf course, and there's a lot of tournaments I would be hanging in there okay and then I wouldn't finish well or whatever it was. I'd just give it back. I'd just start beating myself up.
But anyhow, it was nice to finish, to have a clean scorecard. I had seven birdies, and no hiccoughs, which was nice.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARK JOHNSON: I'm kind of a quiet person anyhow, but I still try to keep upbeat. Inside of me it's turning. They just knew that -- they knew I was struggling because they saw some of the scores I was shooting and things like that.
You know, I've been very fortunate. I had a good amateur career. You get at that point, and then when you get out of the circle, you know, of being in the top 30, or 31 through 50, I mean, once you start getting up in that higher number it's hard to get back in the circle.
I mean, because I don't have money, so I have to finish to keep full status in the top 30 of the Money List. But all these guys had to go through the same thing, too. It's just, you know, I'm new to this. I've been doing it for like nine years now.
Started the process when I was 45 years old. We went to Q-School and happened to get through there and had a very good week in 2004, and then I came out and then won in 2005.
But I got good memories here and I got a lot of support. You know, the guys have been awesome to me. All the players, you know, they know I've been struggling, and they are always encouraging me. There's a bunch of wonderful guys out here.

Q. When you finished today and you walked off, was your stomach calm? What is it internally?
MARK JOHNSON: I feel very good and confident on the round that I played. I'm just going to try to take it over and play one shot at a time tomorrow and see what happens. You know, I like this place. It's been very good to me. I've had a first and a second. Great memories.
In three years, that's pretty good for myself for what's been going on. I'm very excited about how we started out today.
You know, last year I played with Jay Haas. I know he played well today. I think I played with him in the second round last year when I had 63 in that round. You know, he was so good -- all those guys are just so good to me.
Stockton and Colbert and Haas, Bruce Lietzke and Allen Doyle, Dana Quigley. Everybody on this tour, they don't like to see people struggle.

Q. (No microphone.)
MARK JOHNSON: It was, absolutely. A little 58 degreer. Actually, this shot was probably a little harder I think because it wasn't a full shot. So it's just more of a little shot.
But when I actually holed it in 2005 it was a full L wedge. What a dream come true. I'm just going to take the memories from there and try to go out tomorrow and have a good solid day. It's nice to get off to a good start though.

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