New Game, New Thinking: Dustin Johnson profile

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Jul. 24, 2008

As part of the New Game, New Thinking series, Dustin Johnson, one of 25 rookies on the PGA TOUR this season, recently spent some time with PGATOUR.COM freelance writer Rudy Klancnik:

The Basics

NAME: Dustin Hunter Johnson

HT: 6-4 WT: 190

BIRTHDATE: June 22, 1984

BIRTHPLACE: Columbia, S.C.

RESIDENCE: Myrtle Beach, S.C.

EDUCATION: Coastal Carolina

TURNED PRO: 2007

MAKING THE TOUR: Tied for 14th at the 2007 PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament.

Five things to know

By age 13, he could palm a basketball. The 6'4 golfer can also dunk a basketball barefoot.

Johnson went 3-1-1 in the 2007 Walker Cup and helped lead the U.S. squad to victory.

In seventh grade, he made the Irmo High School varsity golf team and earned all-state honors.

Johnsons dad, Scott, is a club pro.

He had three top-15 finishes in his four starts as a rookie.

PGATOUR.COM: Let's face facts, it's not easy making a living out here. The downhill five-footers for par on No. 18 when you're a shot either way of making the cut can't be much fun. Isn't there another sport you could have tried instead?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Wakeboarding. Yeah, wakeboarding. I love being on the water. I'm into anything on the water, but I'm a big fan of wakeboarding. I don't know what type of living I could ever make doing that, but it would be fun trying. But I don't mind the five-footers for par either. That's why I'm out here.

PGATOUR.COM: A lot of guys out here relish the chance to face the pressure. How do you best deal with the pressure shots?

JOHNSON: I've been playing competitively for a while and it's important to stay within yourself on each and every shot. Not that I do that every time, but I'm getting better in my approach to each shot and each round. It's a challenge not to look up at the scoreboard in the middle of your second round to see where the cut line is going to be. I try not to, but it creeps in again and again.

PGATOUR.COM: Making the cut seems like a ton more pressure than sinking a putt to win a title, would you say?

JOHNSON: Absolutely. The competition out here is unbelievable. I've been amazed at how high the bar is set from week to week. Making the cut is a huge deal. My focus has to be more on each single shot instead of scoreboard watching, though.

PGATOUR.COM: How much scoreboard watching did you do at the 2007 PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament?

JOHNSON: Now that's pressure. I finished 14th so I was pretty safe, but you just never know on that thing. It's a grinder. I've never experienced anything more pressure packed than that.

PGATOUR.COM: I notice that you were born the same year I graduated from high school (1984). I don't really have a question here, but I just bring it up to point out how freaking old I am now. Seems like yesterday that I was a single guy like you just starting my career. Must be nice.

JOHNSON: I do love being out here and competing on the TOUR. The people I meet and the places I've already gotten to visit have been very memorable. Now I just need to start playing better for longer stretches and it'll all come together.