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TURNING STONE RESORT CHAMPIONSHIP

October 5, 2008

Dustin Johnson

VERONA, NEW YORK

JOE CHEMYCZ: We welcome our 2008 Turning Stone Resort Championship winner, Dustin Johnson in. It's been a phenomenal week for you, I know. Maybe just talk a little bit about the final round, and especially birdies at 17 and 18 to win for the first time.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: See, I got off to an okay start. I hit a few good shots and didn't make any putts, and then I made about a 40-footer on No. 6, the par-3, for birdie. I hit a real good shot in there on 7 and missed the putt, and then birdied 8, the par-5.
So, you know, I was playing well. And then 9, I made bogey on 9, but I hit two good shots and hit it jsut long. It's a pretty fast putt coming down there, and just made bogey. Hit two good putts and missed them.
So, I mean, I was playing solid, and then got around -- birdied 12 to get it back to I think 2-under, and then I hit it on the water off the tee on 13 and wasn't feeling too good at that point.
Then, let's see, hit a good shot in there and just missed the putt for par, so I wasn't -- I was two back, I think, of Allenby at that point, and I'm playing with him. He bogeyed 14, and I made a probably 10-footer for par. No, he bogeyed 15 and I made a 10-footer for par. So that was kind of the point where I knew that I had a chance.
Then made a really good up-and-down on 16 out of right bunker. Thought I made it and hit it up there a couple inches and then birdied 17 and 18.
JOE CHEMYCZ: With that, we'll open up to questions.

Q. How big was staying out of the hazard on 14 to stabilize yourself after that bogey on 13?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: That was definitely very big. You know, I hit -- I thought I hit a better drive than I did. Just turned a little bit. I guess I got a lucky bounce off a rock.

Q. How close were you to that?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, I was plenty far out of it, but I think it hit a rock and kicked it a little further out of it.

Q. Do you think the conditions benefited your game at all, and it is easier to enjoy knowing that you had to battle so much to win?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, obviously the golf course played so long because it was so wet. I hit it pretty far, so definitely I think it favored me.
But also, I mean, with the wind blowing a lot, it was -- you know, the weather here is kind of crazy, so...
You know, you got to hit the ball really solid to keep it in play. So, I mean, it was definitely a grind.

Q. Your mindset on the 18th hole. You were tied coming in. What are you thinking? How are you going to play this?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, all week it's been playing a little downwind off the tee. I can carry the bunker on the left, so off the tee I just hit it right at -- there's a little tree on the other side of the bunker, and I hit it at it.
You know, I hit a very good drive. So we were kind of in between clubs on the last hole. I was in between my rescue and my 3-iron, so I played rescue. Hit it good just right at the flag. It was a hair long, and hit a pretty good chip and then had about a 12-footer straight up the hill and made it.

Q. Did it help you that you were playing with the leader and so you can sort of pay attention to what was going on today?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, obviously there's a bunch of scoreboards out there, but I try not to look at them. It's hard not to look at them, especially on 18 tee. We had to wait for the group in front of us and there's one staring you right in the face.
Yeah, that did help. Robert played really well today. Unfortunately had a couple putts he couldn't get to go in. It was definitely a lot of fun.

Q. What's it like to get the first win out of the way for you here on the PGA TOUR?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I'm not really sure. Hasn't quite sunk in yet, so I don't really quite know what's going on yet. Obviously it's a great feeling. I feel like I've worked real hard the last month to get my game in shape to, you know, be in the position to win a tournament, so I'm very excited.

Q. What's your overall opinion of this whole tournament, the week, everything going into it? What's the thought process?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I thought the tournament was great. It was run very well. The people here are very nice. They definitely wanted us here. I felt like they wanted us here. The golf course is in great shape. It was just a little bit soft, but they can't control that.

Q. How would you assess your game coming into this tournament?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I've worked very hard the last month, you know, on pretty much my whole game: putting, short game, and also, you know, ball-striking. So I felt like comfortable coming in this week.
I've been playing well, so I was just excited to get out there and actually be in the hunt the last day. I knew I had been hitting the ball well, and if I could just get a few putts to go in I knew I would be in there.

Q. You mentioned you had taken a little time with your coach and had a little pow-wow. Kind of what you just talked about for the rest of the year, because you started so well and then kind of hit that lull.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, we just sat down and just kind of -- I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain. Just I knew I had to focus a lot more, especially on my practice, and you know, the things we were working on in my posture and my setup and the takeaway. Just made sure I worked on them every day.
Also worked a lot harder on my short game and my putting, which I had been doing. It paid off, because I made a lot of good putts coming down the stretch.

Q. Did you feel that this was your time? I mean, you know, you've worked so hard to get to this point, or did you think this first win wasn't going to come for a couple years? When did you think, Yeah, this is all coming together?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I mean, you know, obviously you can't think about that on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. But today, after I hit it in there close on 17, you know, I kind of was like, this is -- if I'm going to do it, this is when I'm going to do it.

Q. How much of a relief is it now knowing that you'll have your TOUR card for next year?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: That's a big relief. Coming into the week I obviously was 128 on the Money List. I just wasn't really focused on this week, you know, kind of looked at the whole Fall Series as my chance to move up the ladder on the list.
I was playing really well, so I wasn't like, you know, scared or nervous about not having my card. But it's definitely a big relief.

Q. On the back nine you scrambled quite a bit. How are you able to maintain your composure? You were playing with the leader and had a lot of tough shots coming down the stretch.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Obviously the only thing that saved me is my putter. I made some real crucial putts to stay in there and have a chance to win coming down the stretch.

Q. The last putt, you were standing over the last putt. Are you thinking, Heck, if I make this I got a good chance to win this thing, or just to make the putt?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, I was just -- you know, I was more focused on my putt. I wasn't thinking about making it. I was just more focused on hitting a good putt.
Because you can't -- when you're standing over a putt you're not thinking, Make it. I'm just trying to hit as good a putt as I can. If it goes in, it goes in.

Q. Robert Allenby is the highest ranked player in this field. Does it mean any more to you that you were two back with four play and you ended up coming out on top?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, no. Everybody out here is very good. Robert is obviously a great player. He's proven it over the last I don't know how many years he's been out here.
No, not really. Everyone out here is good.

Q. What's the most expensive thing you bought with winnings before this tournament, and what might you buy now?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I bought a car. That was the most expensive thing I bought. I never had a new car until about two months ago, so I bought me a brand new one.

Q. What did you buy?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yukon Denali, so -- from my uncle. I don't know what I'll buy now. Probably the next thing I'll purchase is a house.

Q. A lot of this hasn't quite sunk in yet, but with all the thinking back and all the work you put in to get a check this massive, it's got to feel really good to finally see a big, big reward like that?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yes, it does. You know, the last time I really been in the hunt or had a chance to make a big check was Pebble Beach earlier in the year. You know, just feels good. I'm just glad -- you know, it felt good to get in the hunt and get the juices flowing again.

Q. Did you and Allenby find yourself working off each other today? You both had really nice looking rounds.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, you know, we kind of just stayed to ourselves all day. He stayed -- you know, he was very focused all day long, which actually kind of helped me stay focused.
You can't really control what the other player does, but he played very well today and hit the ball very good.

Q. How is this going to affect your schedule the rest of the year? Are you going to play more or less?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I planned -- coming into this week I planned on playing all the events. I'm still probably going to play all of them. I might take one or two off. I'm not sure yet.
Obviously I got to sit down and think about what I'm going to do. I still plan on playing them all as of right now.

End of FastScripts

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