Dustin Johnson appears to be looking forward to playing at Pebble Beach in the 2019 U.S. Open.
The 34-year-old golfer won his lone major at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont, and he'll look to begin the journey to a second on June 13. Johnson is content with competing at a familiar venue and is among the favorites to emerge victorious at the famous course.
"Well, I like the golf course. I know the golf course very well playing the AT&T every year, playing the 2010 Open here," Johnson told reporters Tuesday. "It's a golf course that I'm very comfortable on. Obviously this time of year it plays much different than it does in the AT&T, but it still is very helpful to know the golf course."
Johnson is second in the world rankings and sits just behind Brooks Koepka, who has the best odds in the field (15-1) and has won the last two U.S. Opens. The two have a strong relationship but are rivals on and off the golf course.
"Yeah, Brooks is one of my best friends. Yeah, we compete. Doesn't matter what we're doing, we're competing doing it," Johnson said.
Johnson has done well in the majors this year, finishing T2 in the Masters and second in the PGA Championship. He's confident his preparation this week will help him reach peak performance.
"Yeah, I feel like I've had good work Monday, good work today," Johnson said. "I'm seeing the patterns that I want to see. For me, if I can — I feel like the putter is starting to roll really good. Last week it was tough to tell how you were putting last week."
Johnson has had success at Pebble Beach in the past, but he says this course looks slightly different than the one he played in 2010, where he finished T8.
"The only thing maybe that's a little different from 10 is just the fairway on 18 I think is a little smaller, or maybe it just looks that way to me," Johnson said. "But it looks like it's a little smaller, they moved it a little — brought that rough in down the right side a little bit.
"But other than that, I feel like the golf course is identical to what it was in 2010."
All in all, Johnon seems like he's ready to enjoy playing on a course he fell in love with 11 years ago.
"I really liked it from the first time I ever came up here and played, which was in '08. It was one of my first few events that I ever played on tour," Johnson said. "But just — I mean, what's not to like? The golf course is fantastic from start to finish. When you've got nice weather, it's quite beautiful out there."