CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Dustin Johnson is ranked No. 1 in the world, has a win and five Top 3 finishes this season and yet still sounded unsure of how to assess his performance entering this week’s British Open.
“I’m kind of in the middle,’’ Johnson said Tuesday. “I feel like it’s gone pretty well. I feel like I’ve played really well. I’ve played consistently well. I feel like I’m putting it well and rolling it good. I just haven’t really made a lot of putts. There’s been quite a few tournaments where, if I just putt pretty well on the weekend, then I win.
“If I knew what I was doing (wrong), I wouldn’t do it. So I don’t think I’m overthinking it. It’s just part of the game.’’
Most players should have such champagne problems as Johnson.
Brooks Koepka, the two-time defending U.S. Open champion, wanted to be a professional baseball player when he was younger more than he wanted to be a pro golfer.
“I know I picked the right sport,’’ he said Tuesday. “Yes, baseball to me is probably more exciting. Golf can be a bit dull at times. To me, I enjoy just watching the guys pitch. When they’re throwing fastballs at 98 (mph), hitting the corners, stuff like that with a curveball (and) it makes a guy just shake his head and walk back to the dugout … that to me is interesting.
“You ask most of these guys (from other sports) — baseball players, football players, basketball players — and they’re all trying to play golf. You always want to be doing something you’re not. But I know I picked the right sport, and I’m glad I picked golf.’’
Justin Thomas is sporting a beard this week, something he hopes is a lucky charm for him in his pursuit of the Claret Jug.
“There’s really no rhyme or reason to it,’’ Thomas said of his new look. “I had two weeks off and I was lazy and didn’t really feel like shaving. (Then) I got a couple compliments on it and I thought, ‘All right, maybe I’ll just go with it.’ It’s not like it’s 85 or 90 and (degrees) and humid like it is in the States.
“I would love for it to be a good luck charm, but as of now, it’s no charm. It just kind of happened.’’
Thomas said he considers himself “one of those people’’ who would rather not touch a cherished trophy until he wins it — much the same way many NHL players consider touching the Stanley Cup before they win it is bad luck.
But Thomas, at an early age, violated that rule.
“I remember when my dad worked for the PGA, I held David Toms’ Wanamaker (trophy for the PGA Championship) when I was about 9,’’ he said. “It was a champions’ dinner and David was there and he had his Wanamaker. I asked for a picture. I asked for an autograph, I think, and he let me hold it. So I was holding his Wanamaker trophy, and that panned out OK (since Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship). So I’m hoping there’s no jinx.’’
Asked if he’s ever held the Claret Jug, Thomas said, “Yeah, I drank out of it two years ago with Zach (Johnson, who won the 2015 British Open). We were staying in a house and Zach had it because he had to return it, and we had some wine out of it.’’
When it was mentioned to 2016 Olympic gold medal winner Justin Rose that Matt Kuchar carries his bronze medal around with him often, Rose said, “I did for a little while. It was fun for a bit. (But) I got a sense the boys were getting irritated after two or three months of doing it, and I thought, ‘That’s enough.’
“But, yes, when you win a tournament like that, you have four years of bragging rights. It’s been a fun deal, but it’s resting nice and quietly at home.’’
