The Open: Dustin Johnson feeling positive about chances at Royal Birkdale
By Mathieu Wood
Last Updated: 19/07/17 5:04pm
Dustin Johnson is confident about his chances in his first competitive foray at Royal Birkdale as he seeks to become a two-time major winner at The 146th Open.
Johnson, the world No 1, has not played a tournament since the US Open last month and missed this year's Masters through injury when in fantastic form, and on the back of winning three tournaments on the bounce including two WGC events.
The time he has taken away from competitive action since the second major of the year has allowed the American, who won the US Open in 2016, to dedicate some time to his putting.
When asked about the platform he has coming into the third major of the year, Johnson replied: "I feel like the game is starting to get back to what it was. I'm definitely hitting it a lot better.
"I feel like the putter is starting to roll a little bit better. That was really the only thing that at Muirfield, at Jack's tournament, and at the U.S. Open, I mean it was really just putting.
"But after the injury at Augusta I spent a lot of time working on my swing and kind of not much time working on the short game. So that was not by design, but just kind of how it went."
Johnson, who is competing in his ninth Open, finished in a tie for second place at Royal St George's back in 2011 and enjoys the challenges of links golf.
The 33-year-old acknowledges that winning The Open would sit among his best victories during his career and thinks his game matches up well to the course.
"It would be just as good as the U.S. Open win, for sure. I feel like I played well over here. I like this kind of golf. You use a lot of imagination. You've got to use a lot of different shots. I really enjoy coming over here and playing. But, yeah, it would definitely mean a lot, and it would be just as good as any of my other wins."
Johnson, who will play the opening two rounds with Rory McIlroy and Charl Schwartzel, added: "And I feel like it (Royal Birkdale) sets up well for me. But it's like any Open Championship, you've just got to control your golf ball. If you can do that, you can get around here and shoot some good scores."
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