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HP BYRON NELSON CHAMPIONSHIP

May 20, 2010

Dustin Johnson

IRVING, TEXAS

THE MODERATOR: Dustin Johnson joins us in the interview room here at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. After a 3-under par, 67, I know it was a long day, can we get your comments?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I had a solid round, hit the tee balls pretty good, hit a good many fairways, and you know it was -- this morning it was windy, so it was hard to get close to the flags, but I hit a lot of good shots, had some chances to get some birdies, putted well, just didn't make a lot of putts.

Q. Talk about the eagle on 7.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Hit a good drive, and then a 7-iron to about 25, 30 feet left of the pin, made a good putt there.

Q. Dustin, what do you like with this course? You've played well here before.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: You know, this golf course, it just sets is up well to me. I tend to -- I read these greens pretty good, and so if I'm putting well I'm going to usually play pretty good, especially if I'm driving it pretty straight, and I feel like I drive it pretty well here.
I don't hit too many drivers, which is good for me, but I just got to keep it in the fairway, and if I do miss a fairway, as long as I'm just barely off then I'm usually okay.

Q. Dustin, did the conditions change much after play resumed? Did the wind die down?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: The wind is definitely not blowing near as hard right now, so the course is playing a lot easier, and the wind switched directions a little bit, which made the finishing holes a little easier, too.

Q. So you guys feel like maybe you got a bit of a break in the morning?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I think the afternoon is going to get a little bit of a break. I know they're not teeing off until late, but the wind is not blowing, and it was blowing hard this morning when we played.

Q. Can you talk about that break? What did you do? How tough was it to wait it out without anything really happening?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, when we came off the course they told us they would update us in an hour, so I went in and had lunch and hung out with some of the guys, and we just sat around not doing anything. Then after I knew it was going to be a little while, I went across the street to the hotel and hung out there.

Q. You putted pretty well today. Have you been putting like that for a while now, or was that a first-time thing today?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think I always putt pretty well, so it's just -- as long as I'm driving straight and hit my irons well, I always feel like I play pretty good, because I always roll the putter well.

Q. This has been a good year. Can you talk about what's gone right and the confidence you picked up after the win?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I always play well, I think. I always play well on the west coast; I seem to. The last three years I've played well at the beginning of the year on the west coast. Now I think -- since then I've played -- since I won at Pebble, I haven't played as well as I'd like to but I feel like my game is really close to being good.
It's finally starting to come around a little bit, I'm hitting some better iron shots and better wedge shots so getting a lot more looks at birdies.

Q. How many drivers did you hit today?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think four.

Q. Obviously that's a strength in your game. Do you feel like as you evolve as a player that a course like this which you don't hit many drivers you can still obviously play well?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, today -- I normally hit a few more drivers, but with the wind blowing the way it was, I just didn't hit that many drivers because we were getting a lot of helping winds, especially this morning. So I hit a lot of 3-woods and 3-irons, but I don't care what I hit off the tee as long as it gets me to the yardage I want to get to.

Q. It's interesting that one of the changes they made when they redid the course was to put drivers in people's hands, and obviously it didn't work for you. You're still that much longer.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, you know, the only holes you need driver on are 3, but I didn't hit it on 3 today because it was downwind and the tees were up, but 3, 6 and 7, and -- actually I hit a few more drivers. I think I hit 6 drivers, so 6, 7, 8 and for the 15th, 16th and maybe 18. So there is not an awful lot of holes that I need to hit driver on.

Q. How about the birdie on No. 3?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I hit a 3-wood down, a little cut 3-wood down, and then I had a 178, 180 hole and hit a 9-iron to about 10 feet.

Q. The bogey on 8?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: The wind was down off the right and I kind of hit a high draw, and it rode the wind and flew over the bunker and went actually in the 7th fairway. Then from there I really thought I had a good shot, and it came up short in the gully left of the green, and then from there I hit a decent chip, not an easy chip from down there, hit it to about 10 feet and left it out on the low side of the hole.

Q. The last birdie was on the par 3, 13th hole.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: We started on 11 after the delay, so I had a couple of holes in between there, and I hit a good 8-iron to about 8, 10 feet behind the hole and made a good putt.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Dustin.

End of FastScripts

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