52 Golf WorldAugust 2017
ustinJohnson’sfinalascensiontoworld
number one was kick-started by his
superbUS OpenvictoryatOakmont
lastyear.Itwasamomentofredemption
andvindicationforamanwhotooka
self-imposed leave of absence to address
“personalproblems”amidrumoursof
faileddrugtestsattheendof2014,and
hadsufferednumerousmissedchances
and heartbreaks in golf ’s biggest events.
Themostrecentofthosesetbackshad
come12monthsearlieronthe18th
greenatChambersBay.
DJhasbeenvirtuallyuntouchable
since securing his first major.
He won the WGC – Bridgestone
Invitationalinhisverynextstartand
addedathirdwinoftheyearatthe
BMWChampionshipintheFedExCup
play-offs.VictoryattheGenesisOpenin
Februarymadehimonlythethirdplayer
inhistorytowinatleastonceineachof
their first 10 seasons on the PGA Tour –
Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are the
othertwo–andtookhimtothetopof
theworldrankingsforthisfirsttime.
Then he won the WGC – Mexico
Championshipinhisfirststartasworld
numberoneandtriumphedattheWGC- Dell Match Play to become the first
mantowinallfourWorldGolf
Championship events.
HesatdownexclusivelywithGolf World
to discuss hisjourney from
underachieving rebel to major champion,
and how he plans to exceed his now-
elevated expectations in 2017.
At what point did it sink in that you’d
finally won a major?
I’ve watched highlights when they’ve been
on TV and they [organisers the USGA]
sent me a DVD of the broadcast that I’ll
probably watch at some point. The plane
ride back was the first chance I had time
to sit back and relax. I was so tired that
night I don’t even think we drank
anything out of the trophy then. Monday
night we had some beers out of it. Then
we went to the Bahamas on Tuesday and
just relaxed.What was the difference at Oakmont?
Probablyacombinationofputts and the
experience of the year before. You know,
I didn’t feel like I did anything bad at
Chambers Bay. I hit all the right shots.
It’s not like I hit bad putts.
Unfortunately, those greens were real
bumpy and they were just difficult.
Oakmont was a completely different
kind of golf course, and I did everything
really well. There were never any times
where I had to press at Oakmont.
Making par was a very good score there
and it sounds simple but I drove it in the
fairway, hit it in the middle of the green
and left myself a lot of uphill putts.
I controlled my ball really well all week
and just drove it really great.What effect did your experience at
Chambers Bay have on you?
Coming down the stretch at Chambers
Bay I had to hit good shots. I had to go
birdie-birdie to catch Jordan and
I birdied 17 and hit two really good
shots on 18 when I had to hit them.
Unfortunately I three-putted, but I’d hit
the right shot when I needed to when the
pressure was on. That experience gave meD
1
I’ve watched
highlights when
they’ve been on TV
a n d t h ey se n t m e a
DVD of the
broadcast that I’ll
probably watch at
some point.
GOOD TO GREAT
The three changes that
turned DJ from a
winner to the world
number one.