Masters notebook: Dustin Johnson likes his chances

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Sergio Garcia has some company in the club few, if any, want to join. For now, Dustin Johnson gets lumped into the best player to never win a major category.

Johnson's come close but never has had the finishing touch. His view? A positive or a negative? Johnson put a twist on it.

"If your name's getting mentioned, best players, whether, you know, whatever comes after that, is usually pretty good. I've got to say positive," Johnson said during his media visit yesterday. "You know, I still feel like my time's coming. I've just got to keep putting myself in position to have a chance to win. One of these days, I will get it done."

Johnson tied for sixth at the Masters last year, his best finish here. He also was the was the runner-up at the U.S. Open when he turned a 12-foot eagle putt on 18 for victory into a 3-putt disaster at Chambers Bay. Even back in 2010, he blew a 3-shot lead after three rounds of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

Johnson, however, sees all of those as learning experiences and believes if faced with the same situation on Sunday to win the Masters, he will deliver.

"I try to take every situation, good or bad, and just try to learn from them and use the experience that I had," he said. "You know, even like last year at the U.S. Open, to me, that gives me a lot of confidence. If I'm in that situation on Sunday, I know I can get it done. I know I can hit the shots that I need to hit and put myself in position."

Given his length off the tee, Johnson's game sets up well for Augusta. But it's not just about how far you hit it.

"This is a golf course, I think, that a lot of things have to go your way to have a chance to win on Sunday," he said. "It's tough. (The course) doesn't reward mediocre shots. You've got to hit all of them in the right spots, and when you do miss it, you have to make sure you miss it in the right spot. So those kind of things, that's what makes this place very difficult. I think the more I play it, the more comfortable I get here, the more I know kind of where you have to hit it to certain flags."

One player who knew all the intricacies of Augusta, Tiger Woods, won't be playing, still recovering from back surgery. Johnson said he's missed.

"I like Tiger being out here. It's good for all of us," he said. "He obviously is one of the game's best players. Definitely it helps all of us when he's out, so I'm ready for him to come back. I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully he does it very soon."

This article was written by Karen Guregian from Boston Herald and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.