Page 74 - Golf World (February 2020)

the good

guys

AmAnof

few words

Dustin Johnson is a lot smarter than
you think. A lot of people like to say he
is not that smart, but he is. Now, I have
to admit that Dustin and I have the same
manager (David Winkle of Hambric
Sports), so I am privy to stuff he has
done in business meetings. I know that
he was in a financial meeting once and
his guys said they were going to move
money here and there. Dustin listened
and said that would save him $170,000.
Which was exactly right.
So yes, he thinks differently from
most people, or how people would
assume he thinks. Ben Hogan once said
that he hoped a deaf mute would win
the US Open, so that the press would
have to figure it out on their own. I think
Dustin is certainly laconic. He is loathe to
talk about himself – because to him it’s
all very simple. He looks at the target.
He thinks about the best swing he’s ever
made with the club he is about to hit.
He visualises the shot. And he hits the
shot. He’s not solving any problems
bigger than that.
Yet everyone tells these players how
unbelievable they are. To which Dustin
says something like, “Listen man.
There’s the ball. I hit it as far as I can and
I go from there.” He is just a really, really
nice guy.
Find me a video of DJ saying a cuss
word. Find me a video of him throwing a
club. People can say whatever they
want, but I absolutely love the guy.