Dustin Johnson will be teeing it up this week at Pebble Beach, and as the World No. 1, it’s no surprise that he’s the odds-on favorite.
On Tuesday, the two-time Pebble Beach Pro-Am winner took some questions from the media, which focused on his past success at Pebble Beach, along with remaining No. 1 this season.
1.) Back at a place you’ve won a couple of times. What is it about Pebble that brings out the very best in your game?
JOHNSON: I just really enjoy coming here. I enjoy the courses, they’re a lot of fun to play. This event is a special event. You get an amateur partner, you play with one other pro and his partner, it’s just a lot of fun. Especially if you have a good partner and you have a good group.
It’s a lot of fun out here, especially when the weather is like this, it doesn’t get any better.
2.) When you go around the three golf courses what do you continue to learn about this rotation and this week as a whole?
JOHNSON: Especially like this week I think it’s good to get out and you’ve got to see each golf course just to see how they’re playing because it always — especially when it’s a week like this where the weather’s really nice, you got to see how the golf courses are playing.
Usually generally it’s really soft and cold and wet. But this year the ball’s going, the fairways are pretty firm, greens are firm.
So, yeah, I think it’s going to be a great week, especially the weather looks really good all week and it’s going to be a lot of fun.
3.) Does it matter to you that Jon Rahm could have passed you last week for No. 1 if he had won?
JOHNSON: No, I mean it’s just how it goes. I haven’t played. The last tournament I played, I guess on TOUR I won and I played Abu Dhabi. But he’s playing really good right now, so, yeah, I mean if he would have passed me, he would have passed me.
Could have probably got it back this week if I won, so.
4.) Given the fact that a lot of guys are playing well right now, do you feel like that No. 1 spot’s going to kind of juggle back and forth the rest of the year?
JOHNSON: I can’t tell you. If I keep playing well and keep winning then, no, I’m going to stay No. 1. But, yeah, I mean if I don’t play well, there’s a lot of really good players that are playing really well right now.
So it’s going to be tough for me to keep it, but if I keep playing like I am and how I should, then, yeah, I’ll be there at the end of the year.
Credits: Getty Images, ASAP Sports
