Bouyed by calls from friends, Johnson ready to compete

text size

Kinnaird/Getty Images

Looking to rebound from his collapse at Pebble Beach, Dustin Johnson is eyeing his second win in 2010.

Oh yeah, there were plenty of phone calls. But the one that came from Greg Norman, equal parts counsel and commiseration, empathy and encouragement, was particularly meaningful to Dustin Johnson.

Related

Power Rankings
Expert picks
Sleeper picks
Rd. 1 Tee Times
Interview: Dustin Johnson

Granted, Johnson's three-hole collapse during the final round of the U.S. Open 10 days ago wasn't quite as stunning as Norman's meltdown at the 1996 Masters. But it was certainly too close for comfort.

"He's been in my situation a few times (so it was) nice to get a call from him," the lanky South Carolinian acknowledged.

When Johnson teed off at Pebble Beach that Sunday, he held a three-stroke advantage over his playing partner, Graeme McDowell. By the time he teed off on the fifth hole, though, Johnson trailed by the same margin.

That triple bogey at the second hole -- where Johnson hit his shot from just above the bunker left-handed and chunked a chip -- was followed by a lost-ball double bogey at No. 3 and a bogey at the fourth. Simply put, It was "just a bad day for me," he says.

"If anything, maybe I should have been a little more aggressive on 2, on my approach shot, and then I wouldn't have been in that situation," Johnson said. "But you know, that's golf. ...

"I think that hole kind of sets the tone for the tournament. If I hit a good shot in there and have a decent look at birdie, I think it's a totally different golf tournament."

Phone calls like the one from Norman reminded Johnson -- who had won the last two tournaments at Pebble Beach -- that he was not alone. He wasn't the first golfer to squander a lead, and he wouldn't be the last either.

"All of them told me that they learned more ... from times that they'd lose than they did from when they'd win," Johnson said. "Golf is a learning process nonstop."

This week, after a stop in Myrtle Beach to celebrate his 26th birthday, Johnson returns to competition at the AT&T National. He'll be playing the first two rounds with Tiger Woods, who hasn't had many days like Johnson did but he can sympathize, just the same.

"Well, it happens," Woods said. "And just because it happened doesn't mean that you can't ever win again. ... If he has the talent and the game to give himself that type of lead at a U.S. Open, there's no reason why he can't do that again and finish it off.

"It's just a matter of picking yourself up and doing it all over again."

All in all, Johnson said he thought he "held it together pretty good" that Sunday. He was still entertaining thoughts of winning as he made the turn but the birdies he needed on the back nine turned into bogeys on the way to an 82 and a tie for eighth.

"I still love the golf course," Johnson said. "Any time I can play a tournament there, I'll play it. All you can do is put yourself in a situation to win a U.S. Open, and I still finished in the Top 10, so it's not like I had a terrible week or anything.

"I've got to take out the positives that I can from that week. ... But it was just one of those days where I was just a little bit off and it just got magnified."