54 Golf WorldAugust 2017
alotofconfidenceatOakmont,
especially down the stretch because it’s
suchahardgolfcourse.Was Oakmont the perfect venue for
your game?
ThefirsttimeIsawthecoursewasthe
TuesdaybeforethetournamentandIjust
reallylikeditfromthestart.It’sjusta
good,difficultcourse.It’snottrickedup.
The greens are difficult to read but the
course is right there in front of you.
Places like Oakmont, it’s so difficult and
so important tohit it in thefairway,soif
IdriveitwellI’mgoingtoplaywell
there.DrivingitwellinanyUSOpenis
important, especially there, and Ijust
drove it great.What was the first thought that crossed
your mind when the penalty situation
came up?
I was annoyed, but it really didn’t bother
me that much or affect me. The first
time they approached me on 5 and then
again on the 12th tee I knew I didn’t do
anything wrong so I wasn’t worried. We
talked about it afterwards for a while but
after a while I didn’t give a sh*t. I told
them, ‘fine, whatever, can I just have the
trophy?’What did getting over that hump and
securing a first major championship do
for your confidence?
It definitely helped. Any time you can
win a big tournament like that it’s just
going to give you more confidence that
you know you can do it. For me, it also
confirmed that what I was working on
was the right stuff. And it gave me a lot
of belief – I always had belief – but it
gave me that much more knowing that
I was able to get it done in a major and
in that pressure situation.Was it a sense of relief?
Very relieved. Very relieved. I’m happy
that I don’t have to answer those
questions any more.You took a leave of absence from golf in
2014, worked with a psychologist and
made some other lifestyle changes.
What role do you think all of that has
played in your progression over the last
couple of years?
I didn’t feel like I was playing up to my
potential, so I needed to change
something. Yeah, it was annoying
because I knew I should be playing better
and winning more, but I wasn’t. I became
more dedicated in the gym at the
beginning of 2016. In terms of my game,I worked a lot on my wedges, which were
a lot better last year. I mean, I know I’m
good enough to win and hopefully win
more majors and win a lot more. I was
underachieving so something needed to
change and all of that of course helped.
The leave of absence, you know, at the
time it worked. I feel like I know myself
pretty well and I knew I needed to do
something and it worked.How influential has it been having your
brother Austin on the bag?
That’s been great having him on the bag.
You spend so much time with a caddie,
probably as much time or more time
with them than anyone else, so you have
to have someone you enjoy being around.
So it’s really good having him on the bag
because he’s my best friend. I’m the boss,
and he knows that, but it’s nice. We have
a great relationship and know each other
really well with him being my brother.
And I figure if I’ve got to pay someone, I
might as well keep it in the family.Given your success in 2016, do you think
you’re going to wrestle with higher2
Mid-range putting
More practice, plus
the new TaylorMade
Spider Tour putter,
has been especially
noticeable in the 10-
15ft range – vital for
making more birdies
and saving par when
out of position. He had
a 29.14% (105th on
Tour) success rate in
this area in 2015, but
he’s holed 35.56%
(4 4th) this season.
Overall, his strokes
gained – putting has
jumped from 0.128 to
0 .517 in that period.More precise
wedge play
DJ’s pitching was
long considered the
weakest part of his
game, but altering
his technique so he
doesn’t have so much
shaft lean at impact
and working harder
to dial in his yardages
with Trackman has
yielded big gains. His
average proximity to
the hole from 50-125
yards from the
fairway was 17ft 8in
(53rd on the Tour) in- Now, it’s 16ft
0in (11th). His stats
drop off steeply from
the rough, which
shows the importance
of hitting fairways.
GOOD TO
GREAT
The leave of absence
worked. I know myself
pretty well and I knew I
needed to do something.