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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BY COCA-COLA

September 20, 2011

Dustin Johnson

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

CHRIS REIMER: We welcome Dustin Johnson, No. 2 in the FedExCup standings coming into the finale here at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola. You're kind of where you want to be in the top 5 in the standings and then talk about being here at the finale for the FedExCup.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, made it to the TOUR championship obviously in Chicago, pretty good year and a good playoff run, and you know, this week is all about just putting yourself in position to win on Sunday. There's a lot at stake, the FedExCup champion, obviously winning the TOUR Championship and then obviously there's a big bonus for that, too.

Q. Given the state of the game today, money isn't as big a motivator as it once was for most guys out here. At what point do the zeros start to catch your attention?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, this week the zeros definitely catch your attention. There's a lot of money. Definitely that's enough for you to think about, for sure.

Q. Is it something that you feel the pressure of, hey, this is worth an extra mill or two?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, it's just another week, just another golf tournament. We've got 30 of the best guys on TOUR playing here this week. You know, it's tough to win here. I mean, that's pretty much -- a guy in my position, if I win, I win the FedExCup, too. You know, that's a big deal.

Q. You're one of a handful of guys that can control their own destiny. What's it like to know that you being able to get a win will handle that FedExCup and the nice bonus check to go along with it?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Obviously I'm in a good position. You know, I say all I need to do is win and I win everything, but it's tough. It's going to be a long week, it's going to be -- nobody is just going to give you anything. You're going to have to earn every bit of it. This golf course is a tough golf course. To play here well is big. You've got to drive the ball well here. The fairways are fairly narrow, and the greens, the Bermuda rough, coming out of the Bermuda rough, the ball, you're not going to spin it. So driving it in the fairway is huge at this golf course.

Q. How do you feel about your chances today compared with what you did at Plainfield?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: They're a lot better today than they -- well, Plainfield, I was playing pretty good when I left Plainfield, but I didn't play very well last week. I worked hard on the game yesterday and today. It's definitely a lot better than it was, feeling good, got a lot more confidence in the putter. Been working on the short game, too, so I feel like I'm pretty ready.

Q. What happened last week? What went wrong?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Anything and everything that could. Plus, I mean, after -- it's a tough tournament. In my position, too, you're up there pretty high. I didn't get off to the greatest of starts, kind of after a little while you lose interest and you're just trying to get done.
I'm trying to get ready for this week, but then, you know, also out there it's just hard to stay focused.

Q. You haven't played your best golf at East Lake. Is there anything about this layout that works against you, do you think?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I think the last couple years, too, coming into this event we've had the week off before, and I generally play a lot better when I've got a stretch.
But I think last year on Saturday and Sunday, I actually played two of my better rounds at this golf course. This is a course you need to play a little bit to get comfortable with it, get comfortable with the tee shots and the shape of the shots off the tee. I think I'm getting to where I actually -- it sets up good for me, and I'm kind of maybe selecting better clubs off the tees than I have been.

Q. If you played Gary Woodland in a game of horse, who would win?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. Depends on who had shot the previous couple weeks probably. I haven't shot a basketball in a long time.

Q. Did you do those dunks in that commercial spot that's running now?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, we Photoshopped those.

Q. You did?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. (Laughter.)

Q. Was the hoop ten feet and you actually went up and jammed it?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It was close. I don't know. We didn't have a tape measure out there, but it was pretty close. It might have been a couple inches under ten, like they repaved it or something, just a little bit lower.

Q. Who do you think wins in a game of one-on-one?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Who knows? I don't know. I can play one-on-one all right. In a shooting contest, I'd probably give Gary the upper hand. One-on-one I think I'd be a lot closer.

Q. You guys could do that instead of ping-pong at some of these events.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, well, playing basketball, though, is tough to play when you're at a tournament. I'm always sore after I play usually, sore, and you've got the chance to twist an ankle, too, so I usually wait until the off-season.

Q. What are your thoughts about finishing on 18, the par-3?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a good hole. It's long, it's hard to hit the green. You know, it's a tough hole. Obviously I never really thought about it, but out there today, they were like -- they could switch these nines around and it would be a great finish, finishing on 9. But I never really thought about that.
But finishing on 18, you know, it's a good, hard par-3. You've got 16, 17 and 18 are pretty tough holes.

Q. Would you like to see them switch it?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, finishing on 9 with the par-5, maybe it would be a lot more exciting. You've got guys where you can reach the green, making eagles, or to come from one or two back to tie or win. I think that definitely makes for a little more excitement. But 18, I mean, it really doesn't matter whether you finish on 9 or 18.

Q. I was just wondering, if you're standing over a putt at the 18th hole and it's worth $10 million, is that something you're going to think about? Is it easy to put the money side of it out of your mind?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I mean, it's like any tournament. It's going to be the same no matter what. It doesn't matter if it's for the FedExCup or if it was last week for the BMW or at Pebble. Still, you want to make the putt and you're going to have those juices flowing and you're still -- all you're really trying to focus on is making a putt or hitting it where you're looking, not really making it but just hitting it where you want to hit it, and if it goes in, it goes in.

Q. What do you usually hit on 18?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Today we were playing from kind of the back edge of the tee, but I was hitting a high cut with a 4-iron.

Q. I was also going to ask you, in this age we're in of everyone hitting it a long way, what kind of message do you think is out there that the guy that's at the top of the World Ranking right now, I don't want to call him a pea shooter, but is a medium length hitter? Does that surprise you at all?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. Luke is a very good player. He does very well. He's got great tempo. He's never -- he's always swinging with really good tempo. He drives it straight, hits his irons good, and he's got a really good short game. I mean, that's where he excels is short game and putting. He's a very good -- he drives it fairly straight, hits his irons pretty good, and then putts and chips it well. That adds up to be a good score at the end of the day.

Q. And in the last six or seven years of your golfing, have you been around guys that have been medium length that have been chasing distance to a degree where it might screw up their swing? Have you seen that at all?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, most of the guys you see coming out now that are the younger guys, they all bomb it. It seems like that's kind of a trend now. All the guys you see coming up, coming from Nationwide and the guy at the -- the top young players on the PGA TOUR, they all hit it far. They all do. I don't know any guys that have come out in the last couple years that were short hitters that are at the top of the PGA TOUR.

Q. You come into this year in the exact same position as last year, No. 2 in the FedExCup points. You got off to a bit of a slow start last year with a 72. Do you take a different mindset this year?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, the same. It's a golf tournament, I'm going to try to get off to as good a start as I can. I just didn't play well here last year. I think I'm a lot more confident, and I think I'm hitting it a lot better than I was last year coming into this event. Even though I had won the Chicago, the BMW, a couple weeks before that, I just struggled a little bit here last year. That's all it is.

Q. Have you re-upped with TaylorMade, and if so, how long is the deal, and were you well compensated?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know. I don't really know if I can answer that. Ask TaylorMade. Like I said, I just don't know if I can answer it or not.

Q. Can you tell me how you play the par-3, 11th hole?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, the par-3s here are pretty good. You'll take a 3 on every one of them every time. It's not -- 11, you really want to -- it's a pretty tough hole, and you've just got -- the green is fairly well sloped from front to back. You're trying to keep it under that hole. You get behind the hole there, it's a really fast putt. Or if you miss the green left to right, you've got a pretty tough bunker shot.
But on that hole you really just want to try not to short side yourself and try not to hit it behind the hole.

Q. How do you like 18 as a finishing hole?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: It's different. I don't mind it. It's a long, tough par-3. There's not much -- it's not real exciting, but still, you can hit a -- if you hit a great shot, you can get it in there close, but most of the time guys are just trying to hit it on the green and two-putt for a 3.

Q. What's the longest club you've ever hit into a par-3?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know.

Q. Did you have to remove a head cover?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not in a long time. I'll hit a 3-iron before I pull a head cover off, so I just hit it as hard as I can. (Laughter.)

Q. What's the biggest difference guys will have to deal with this week from Jersey, Boston, Chicago, the grass there, to Bermuda?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, you know, the fairways are zoysia here, so the fairways are awesome. The ball sits up like it's on a tee every time, so that's great. But the rough, Bermuda, ball sits down, and it goes forever, unless you've just got a really bad lie and it doesn't go anywhere. When you can get a club on it, the ball just flies.
Obviously growing up on it, I'm used to it. I've played it my whole life, but it's still hard to chip out of. It's just tough to judge chipping. But the grass is completely different than what we were playing up in the northeast.

Q. If the dream scenario happens and you make the putt on 18 to win the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup, almost $12 million you're putting in your pocket, what's the first big thing you're going to buy with that $10 million?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: A big party for my friends.

Q. What's your address and phone number?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I'll give that to you later.
CHRIS REIMER: Thank you, Dustin.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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