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HYUNDAI TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 4, 2011

Dustin Johnson

KAPALUA, HAWAII

DOUG MILNE: Thank you for joining us at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. We appreciate your time. Two wins on the PGA TOUR in 2010. Just assess the state of your game as you're heading into this week and your thoughts on being here.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, game is in good shape. And I had about 13 days off before I came over here, so that was nice. But you know, getting back into it. Game is feeling good. I'm feeling good. And it's always great to be in Hawai'i for a couple of weeks at the start of the season.

Q. What do you like about this course?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I like it. It's windy usually, which I don't mind. But you've got to hit a lot of different golf shots. You hit almost every club in your bag. Hit a lot of drivers for me, so it sets up good, and the fairways are fairly generous. They are nice. And I can drive it close to a few of the par fours --

Q. What do you hit on 18?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Driver. I try to hit it down there to the edge of the fairway. It's downwind I wouldn't play driver. But it's been playing into the wind the last few days. I try to hit driver, gets all the way up on the green.

Q. Do big hitters have an advantage here, do you think?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think so. I mean, if you look at the guys that's won here, they are all pretty long. Ogilvy hits it long. I know Tiger has won here. Ernie hits it long. So most of the guys that win here hit it pretty far. It definitely helps because through the holes, if you can get it down there, you can catch some of the downslopes and it actually kicks it out even further so, it helps.

Q. Did you ever hookup with Kelly Slater?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I take it he's getting over here today I think.

Q. What are the surfing plans?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not for me, nothing, because I can't surf worth a darn. But I try.

Q. Are there any lessons?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Maybe. I think we are going to trade golf lessons for surfing lessons -- I'm not going over there, no. I'll watch; I'm not going.

Q. What are you expecting from Tiger Woods this year? Is there locker room talk speculating as to when he might win again?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not really. He's one of the best players in the world so I expect him to play very well this year. As his own event at Sherwood, he played pretty good. He played really well for three rounds. Didn't play so good the last round. But I think his game is in good shape and it's going to get better.

Q. From your guys' perspective, obviously if he wins like he once did, you guys are not going to win as much you are doing at the moment; the convert being that the game needs him.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't understand what the question. Is.

Q. It was convoluted. My apologies. What I'm trying to say is that clearly the game needs Tiger playing well. I mean, from a sponsor's point of view if nothing else. But yet the other side of the coin is that if he gets back to the dominance that he once had, you fellas are not going to have the same freedom to win tournaments that you have experienced in recent years?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I hope he does. Doesn't bother me. I'm still going to win. Tiger is a great player, but you know, he haven't win every event, so that leaves a lot of other events I'll have a chance to win.
I think he'll do just fine. He's a great golf and you know he's playing pretty good golf right now.

Q. On the balance last year, was a good year with a couple of wins and obviously competing and almost winning two majors; I'm wondering what kind of refinements to your game do you think you want to make or try to make as you go into a new year to say, I was good last year and I'll be that much better at whatever it is, at x; what is x?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Wedges. Wedges is where I can improve a bunch. Wedges, bunkers. So that's the area that I need to improve more in. But as far as the rest of the game, I'll keep working on the same things I worked on last year. You know, me and Butch, we worked a few times this off-season and you know, the main thing we are focusing on is getting the wedge game better.

Q. Can you elaborate more on wedges specifically, do you mean distance control?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, distance control. Usually my direction is very good, but working on direction and distance control. I made a lot of bogeys last year with a wedge in my hand; so eliminating that, which distance control will do that.
But you know, just wedges is just repetition. Just keep hitting numbers. Keep hitting the numbers that I want to and adjust from there. But the more wedge shots you hit, the better you are going to get with a wedge.

Q. Secondly, do you recall what kind of optimism or how you felt going into the year in '08, was that your rookie year?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yes.

Q. How you felt in terms of optimism as a rookie and how you feel now.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I didn't know really what to expect. I just got out of college, played Walker Cup, went through all three stages of Q-School and then my first event was the Sony Open in '08. So I didn't know what to expect. But I played fairly -- I played pretty well. I finished 10th. So I got off to a really good start. I think I made the cut in the first five events and finished Top-10, I think four of the five or something. So you know, I knew I could play out here, but I didn't really actually maybe believe it as much as I do now. Now I'm a lot more confident and I know I can play. I've won four times, so I know that I can compete and win golf tournaments out here. So it's a totally different mind-set.

Q. Stricker says he still comes into the start of each year a little bit nervous, fearful carrying forward; do you have any of that baggage?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's more I get excited now. I'm looking forward to getting the year started. I like playing the West Coast Swing. I love the two events over here in Hawaii, too. I'm always looking forward to playing, because I had a long time off without playing. I played four silly season events, but --

Q. Challenge season events.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: The fall challenge. (Laughter) I played four of those, it was a lot of fun and had a great time in all events. Did pretty well. Won two of them so not too bad.
But as far as going into the year, though, yeah, I mean, you get a little -- there's a little jitters there.

Q. You mentioned going through all three stages of Q-School to get your card. I'm wondering, there's been sort of evidence that going through the Nationwide Tour, as opposed to going through Q-School produces a more solid player who can maybe stay here, but yet you didn't seem to have that kind of a problem making a transition. I wonder if three stages of Q-School in some way is a good preparation to sort of get you acclimated to what you would like to expect?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know if you can say either way. But if you look at a lot of the great players, they didn't go Q-School or Nationwide. You could argue it either way. A lot of guys don't have to do either one.

Q. What's more pressure: Trying to win a major tournament or just trying to get through that Q-School?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I was pretty nervous coming down the back nine of Q-School the last day. But the first stage, I won by eight shots, so never had an issue. And second stage, I was leading the whole time, so I think I finished second, last shot, but I cruised through those two stages.
And then final stage, I played really well, so I was well inside the number going into the last day. And then I played solid, made three 3-putts on the back nine, which I missed a couple real shorties. I wasn't feeling that great coming down 17 and 18, but I managed to get through it. But it's definitely very nerve-wracking for sure.

Q. What sort of weather are you hoping for this week? Would you like the wind to blow hard? What sort of things are you looking for weather-wise this week and what is it going to take to win here?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Generally you've got to play well to win here. It takes like 15-, 16-under usually, 17, I don't really know. But I know you've got to play good, and that's good playing.
But I like to see the wind blow. Hopefully it blows out of the north, which is a north/northeast, which is what it's blowing now. When it turns around and blows the other way, the golf course plays really tough. But I don't mind seeing the wind blow.

Q. Have you stepped up your expectation all after last year?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not really. I just want to keep doing what I'm doing, keep going through the process and just keep putting myself in position of winning golf tournaments.
The more times that I put myself in position, the more times I'm going to win. So my expectations are not any different. I still expect to play good and contend to win every week.

Q. You've played a lot of practice rounds with Mickelson. What's that done for you playing a lot of practice rounds with Phil?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, you know, we have played a lot. We have played the majors and World Golf events and other big tournaments. But any time you can play with -- he's one of the best players in the world. So any time you can play with them a bunch and watch what they do and how they practice and what they are doing arch the greens and shots that they are hitting off the tee or into greens, like how they are playing a golf ball, especially on really tough golf courses, it helps.

Q. Who are your favorite practice rounds --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: That was a pretty cool one. St. Andrews is a special place. So it was definitely a fun round. It was me, Phil and Nick Watney, so we had a good day.

Q. Playing with Mickelson, are you --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Neither. I think it's about squash.

Q. Would you agree with a lot of commentary right now that the best golfers in the world are found in Europe?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. Both. You could say they are European, but most of them play over here. There's too many good American players to say that the best golfers in the world are in Europe.

Q. How do you think it sits at all; that the American-born players have something to prove this year?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not really. We are still going to play really well. We are still going to win golf tournaments. You know, they played really well last year, but won a lot of golf tournaments. But you know, this is a new year.

Q. You mentioned the World Golf events and obviously the majors. This tournament is obviously a different way to qualify to get here. Where does this tournament rank in the hierarchy? Is it above regular full-field events, or where do you kind of view this tournament itself?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think it's one of the best tournaments we play all year. I mean, we are in Maui for a week at the start of the season. It's a small field and you have to win a golf tournament to get into it. You've done pretty well if you're here.

Q. And there's no cut.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: And there's no cut. That's always good.

Q. What is the best time you had last year on a golf course?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Probably Saturday at the U.S. Open. That was a lot of fun. I had a three-shot lead going into Sunday. I'll take that quite a few times.
That was pretty special. But also, Sunday at Pebble, and then AT&T, and Sunday at Chicago, they were both pretty fun, too.

Q. Just a comment on I think 13 different players combined for 16 wins in their 20s in 2010. Do you kind of see a shift? Do you envision that same wave rolling in 2011 as far as young, new breed coming along?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think the young guys, we had a really good year this year. We won a lot of golf tournaments and that's what we have to keep doing. We have to keep winning golf tournaments, stepping up, and we need to win a few majors.
DOUG MILNE: Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

End of FastScripts

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