SAN DIEGO – Now in his 15th season on the PGA Tour, Dustin Johnson’s opening press conference of the year typically follows a familiar script.
He’ll say that he took some time off over the holidays, so he might be a little rusty.
He’ll say that he had a good year, but hopes this one is even better.
But never has he admitted what he did here on the eve of the Farmers Insurance Open.
“I just needed a reset with my mind, body, everything,” he said. “I was really frustrated with how I played last year.”
It was a surprising bit of candor from one of the game’s most endlessly optimistic players. DJ isn’t outwardly expressive. He doesn’t complain or sulk. Doesn’t slam clubs. Doesn’t go dark. When he’s irritated, he apparently just … disappears; in the 3 ½ months since the Ryder Cup, he has played only once. Since then, he’s spent more time on his boat and on the slopes than on the course.
Full-field scores from Farmers Insurance Open
When a Tour media official on Tuesday suggested to Johnson that “I’m sure you’ve played some golf …,” he countered: “I probably have not played as much as you think I have.” Last week, he said, was the first time he’s hit balls since late October.
“I’m hitting it a little better than I thought I might,” he said, “but obviously I’ve still got a lot of work to do to get back to where I want to be.”
And against the backdrop of his Hall of Fame career, sure, Johnson’s 2021 was forgettable. His lone worldwide win came in February, against a strong but limited field at the Saudi International, where all of the elite players were there to collect handsome appearance fees. He also became just the second American to post a 5-0 record in the Ryder Cup. But other than that, he failed to win on the PGA Tour and became the first world No. 1 in more than two decades to miss the cut in a pair of majors. His $5 million in earnings – again, these are ridiculously high standards – was his worst…
Source : yahoo
