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AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AMFebruary 11, 2010Dustin JohnsonPEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Welcome our defending champion. Great round today. 64 at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. Maybe some opening comments about defending your title and finishing with five straight birdies and a 64. DUSTIN JOHNSON: You know, it's always special to come back and defend a title. You know, you always want to play well. You know, most important thing is getting off to a good start. I got off to a good start. Birdied the first hole. You know, it was just kind of cruising along. Made a couple birdies, couple bogeys on the front, and then played really good on the back. I birdied 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, so, you know, hit a lot of good shots today. Missed a couple short putts early, but made them coming down the stretch. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Okay. We'll take some questions. Q. I'm sure you were asked this last year, but why do you think your game matches up so well with these courses, and Pebble in particular? DUSTIN JOHNSON: You know, ever since the first time I came here I've really like this golf course, the way it sets up to my eye. You know, it's a special place. It's so beautiful out here, especially today. The weather was awesome. You know, I just, I don't know. I like it here. Q. (No microphone.) DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I played yesterday. I played here. Yeah, first time I played since last year. Q. Go through that finishing stretch. DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I started 14, I hit two good shots to the front edge of the green and chipped it up there probably two, three feet right behind the hole. You know, tapped that one in for birdie. Then 15, kind of flipped my 3-wood off the tee. You know, it was pretty close to going out of bounds. Luckily enough it stayed in. It was in the left rough. It was probably -- but it was, you know, plenty of room. So then I had sand wedge and 120 to the hole. Hit sand wedge about five feet right behind it. Made that one. Then 16, hit 3-iron off the tee. I think I had 166 a little into the wind and a little off to the left. Just kind of chipped a 7-iron in there to, I don't know, six or seven feet just short of the hole. Real good shot. Probably one of the better swings I made all day I would think. Then 17, it was 169 a little into the wind. I hit 7-iron again about five feet right behind the hole, and, you know, obviously made that one. Then 18, I hit really good tee ball right where I wanted to. I had 240 hole, wind off to the left, I think, and 3-iron right in the middle of the green. Hit my putt -- you know, had a good chance at eagle. It was only probably 20 feet. Just misread a little bit. Didn't break near as much as I thought. Q. Your swing on 17? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, just smooth. Q. How vulnerable was Pebble today with, like you said, little wind? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Um, you know, it's -- every time you get good weather out here, especially with the greens being this soft and being able to lift, clean, and place it in the fairway, if you swing well and make some putts, you can shoot a good number here. But, you know, it can also go the other way. If you're not putting well and not swinging too well, you're not gonna play good. Q. Do you assume you'll reach 14 in two? DUSTIN JOHNSON: You know, depends on how good I hit my tee ball. If I hit a good tee ball I can get it up there. Like yesterday, I hit a rescue on the green, but today I hit my tee ball a little left. It was it the fairway, but had 270 front edge, and I hit my 3-wood right on the front edge. Q. With the weather expected to be good all weekend, does that put the pressure on everybody to go low every day? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, if you got good weather, then, you know, most of these courses are, you know -- if it's bad weather they're very hard. But with the good weather, you're gonna have to play well every day. Q. It's the one place you want to be when it's good though, isn't it? DUSTIN JOHNSON: It is one of the places you want to be when it's good weather, especially when -- you know, today we had a little bit of sunshine, a little bit of clouds, but it's so pretty, too. Just a fun place to be with nice weather. Q. Are you maybe hoping for rain tonight? DUSTIN JOHNSON: (Chuckling.) No, no. I don't want to see any rain hopefully. We've had enough this year so far. Hopefully we get some good weather. Q. Does this round validate even more what you did last year? DUSTIN JOHNSON: Um, I mean, you know, that was a year ago, so... Yeah, I mean, kind of, I guess. Still, this is a new tournament. What I did last year really doesn't matter for this year. Just got to focus on what I'm doing and play good tomorrow at MPCC. Q. What is it about the 7-iron on 6 that you're so pleased about? DUSTIN JOHNSON: I'm kind of right in between clubs. It's an 8-iron shot, but the pin is back right, and, you know, the greens are soft. So a full 8-iron is gonna spin a lot, so I'd have to land it in a perfect spot, you know. And, you know, hitting chip shots, it's not always easy to hit 'em right where you want 'em to. So it was just a good, you know, solid swing. JOEL SCHUCHMANN: Dustin, thanks. End of FastScripts |
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