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British Open 2022: Dustin Johnson gives vintage Dustin Johnson answer when asked about 2015 Open collapse
Ross Parker - SNS Group
Right around this time seven years ago, Dustin Johnson, then ranked No. 3 in the world, was the 36-hole leader at the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews. It was his first start since the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, where a disastrous 72nd hole three-putt knocked him out of a potential 18-hole playoff with Jordan Spieth and added to his growing list of near-misses in majors.
Johnson promptly added to that list with an ugly weekend collapse at the Old Course, shooting 75-75 to fall into a tie for 49th. A finish to forget, some would say.
Johnson, not one to dwell on the past, has put himself in a nearly identical position at the 2022 Open, for now. After a Friday morning 67, the two-time major champ briefly held the solo lead and is, as of this writing, now tied for the lead at nine under. During his post-round press conference, the topic of 2015 naturally came up, Johnson being asked if there was anything from Saturday in 2015 he remembers that could help him on Saturday in 2022. DJ, obviously, answered that in a vintage DJ manner.
"To be honest, I don't even remember the third round from seven years ago," Johnson said. "I've played a lot of golf since then, and that was a long time ago."
Two thousand, five hundred and fifty-three days, to be exact. But who's counting?
"Obviously any time playing in a major and playing golf courses, you learn stuff about yourself," he said. "But that was quite a while ago. I'm sorry, I really don't remember."
There's a good chance Johnson forgot what he ate for breakfast this morning, which is by design. Asking him to remember one golf round from seven years ago is only going to end one way - with DJ having zero memory of it, which is a trait that has seemed to serve him well in his golf career.