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THE BARCLAYS

August 26, 2011

Dustin Johnson

EDISON, NEW JERSEY

COLIN MURRAY: Dustin Johnson, thanks for joining us here in the interview room here at The Barclays, 63 today, 13-under for the tournament, 29 going out. Just talk a little bit about your day today and then we'll open it up to questions.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: You know, got off to a good start. I think I birdied 1 and 2. So you know, that's definitely key out here is you've got to get off to a good start. I had a really solid front nine, made some good putts, not any long ones but just made some good, solid 10-, 12-footers and kept it going on the back nine.
Let a few -- I drove it in the fairway on 12 and hit it in the creek, but saved par and then 16 I knocked it on in 2 and 3-putted. But I was right in front of the green on 18 and didn't get up-and-down. You know, let a few get away from me coming in but overall played really solid all day long, hit the ball well and rolled the ball pretty good.
COLIN MURRAY: I believe you are 11-under on the front nine for the first two days. Anything about that side that fits your game particularly?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I mean, I like the front side. I like the back. It doesn't really -- just you know, made a bogey and a double on the back nine, so that kind of -- that hurts the score in the first round. But overall, I played really well.

Q. I know it's hard to think about leaving a lot of shots out there when you shot a 63, but on the back, it looked like you struggled a little bit on four or five holes -- did you think after the 29, you could shoot 59?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I mean, I never thought about it. I just tried to birdie every hole I could. The golf course, it's out there, with the greens soft and rolling good, that it's -- you know, it's out there for the taking. If you drive it in the fairway, you know, then you're going to have a -- you can be aggressive to all flags.

Q. It looked like you really wanted to hit it from that spot on 12. I mean, how close were you to making that decision?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, if I had more of a backswing I would have hit it but I didn't really have much of a backswing. So you know it just wasn't worth it to hit it.

Q. About that shot, were you thinking that you wanted to hit it because you wanted to make 4, since you were in the middle of the fairway and you should be making 4 kinda?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Sure. I drove it in the fairway. It was a perfect 3-iron for me. So I kind of had a funky lie and I just, you know, just hooked it a little bit. But so, yeah, I was a little mad and I wanted to make 4, so I was really thinking about hitting it. But if I would have had more of a backswing, I would have hit it for sure.

Q. Did you find out during your round that this has become a 54-hole tournament, and just what do you think about, that about the reduction in the number of rounds?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I didn't find out until I was walking up 18. But you know, if the weather's coming in, I mean, they are saying it's going to be tough to even get in tomorrow. So you don't -- you know, getting in Sunday is really no option.
And Sunday and Monday are pretty much a wash. Sometimes you've got to do that. I would like to play all 72, but if we can get in 54, I think it will be a good week.

Q. The announcement was made during the middle of the day. Do you think there would have been a different approach by the players if the announcement was made as soon as you got to the golf course; does that change anything for you or the other players, or does it not make a difference?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It wouldn't have changed anything for me. You still have to go out here and be aggressive. You have to make birdies, and every hole is a birdie hole; you have to drive it in the fairway because the rough is pretty penal. It's hard to get it close out of the rough. I don't think it would have changed your mind-set at all.

Q. It seems like an odd thing to ask, but is it possible to be a little disappointed by a 63? Do you feel like a better number --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: There's no way I can say I'm disappointed by any means (smiling).
But as far as I could have done a little better, you know, with the short game. On 18 I hit an okay chip but hit a bad putt, and the same thing on 16, you know, 3-putting. Don't really like to do that. But you know, overall, I mean, a 63 is a 63. I'm going to be smiling.

Q. Given that we have got 18 less holes to separate the leaders from the guys in the middle, I'm guessing it's going to be pretty clumped tomorrow and wondering what you see happening on that back nine with two par 5s and a drivable par 4 on the 18th?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think it's going to be good. It's going to be definitely fun for the crowds to watch. There's a lot of stuff that can happen. You make a couple eagles, it's going to be exciting, for sure.
I'm looking forward to it. But you know, tomorrow is going to be a shootout. Whoever can shoot the lowest score tomorrow is going to win for sure.

Q. Knowing that this is already 54 holes, they are talking about weather coming in in the morning, definitely weather in the afternoon. I mean, is the plan to go out there, just make as much, at least on the front nine, and then make the turn and however many holes you guys get in, go from there type of thing?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, if we don't get them all in, then it's going to be a wash of a day anyway, so it doesn't really matter. It's going to be a long day probably that's going to start and stop, so we are just going to have to, you know, make as many birdies as you can while you can. You know, hopefully we'll get them all in.

Q. You're an East Coast guy. Have you had experience in hurricanes and what might that have been in your life?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I've never really had any bad ones. I mean, when I was really little, I remember Hurricane Hugo and Hurricane Andrew, but other than that -- I was so small, I just remember a bunch of trees and stuff being down. You know, never really had to experience a bad hurricane.

Q. How would you assess your year so far when you look at what you've done?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's been good at times. It's been pretty bad at times. But overall, I think it's okay. I've struggled -- I've struggled a little bit this year to my standards. It's not as good as I would like it to be. But you know, I've still had a few chances to win, and you know, that's what it's all about. Just haven't been able to quite get it done.
Played pretty well in a few events, but then I've had some events where I've really struggled. But I don't feel like my game, it was as consistent as it was last year. You know, I've had a lot more up-and-downs.

Q. Was today pretty much the best you've played all year, that front nine, going into the back, would you say that was the best year hitting it, putting it?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean -- well, this week, I've started to drive the ball pretty well, and I'm hitting my irons pretty good. So you know, finally I feel like I'm making some putts, which I haven't done all year long. And you know, last year, last year I felt like I putted consistently all year. This year, I've been inconsistent with the putter.
The golf game's there. Just the putter's been really inconsistent. That's what I've really been working on hard is to get that more consistent, and rolling the putts that I'm supposed to make. I'm not going to make a lot of 20-footers, but roll the ones in that you're supposed to.

Q. I know that the scores are reflective of a soft golf course, but just how accessible are some of these holes when it's this soft out there? I mean, it seemed like almost every hole is a birdie hole at this point.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I mean, like I said earlier, you know, if you drive it in the fairway, you can attack it, every flag.
So you know, it doesn't matter if you're coming in with a 3-iron or a wedge. You can get it close to the hole, because the ball just hits and stops.

Q. Have you changed anything mechanically with your putting of late to try to turn it around or just attitude or what exactly?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, just grinding on the putting green, getting comfortable, getting more confident. I struggle a lot of times with my setup. I don't ever think my stroke's bad. I just get uncomfortable standing over it.
COLIN MURRAY: Dustin, thanks for your time. Best of luck tomorrow.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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