DUBLIN, Ohio — Consider this a shot fired.
Dustin Johnson on Tuesday made it clear he’s not intimidated by the new-found length off the tee Bryson DeChambeau has been flashing the past month thanks to his new-found bulk.
DeChambeau, who’s added some 25 pounds of muscle to his frame and has gone from being ranked 45th on the PGA Tour in driving distance in 2017 to first this year, comes to this week’s Memorial at Muirfield Village having won his last start, the Rocket Mortgage Championship two weeks ago.
When Johnson, who won his last start, the Travelers Championship the week before the Rocket Mortgage, was asked Tuesday if he feels the need to add some length to keep up with DeChambeau, he said, “I feel like if I’m playing my game, he can hit it as far as he wants to, and I don’t think he’s going to beat me. I feel like my game and where it’s at and how far I hit it is far enough.
“Until I feel like I need to hit it further to compete or beat these guys, then that’s what I’ll do.’’
Asked what would happen if he swung with the same all-out violence DeChambeau does on every shot, Johnson said with a laugh, “I’d probably hurt something. That’s why I don’t do it. And I wouldn’t find half of them [the shots].’’
Asked if those shots would be “off the planet,’’ Johnson said, “I don’t know. When I’m on the range, sometimes I’ll start hitting them hard just for fun, and I generally hit them pretty straight. But it’s different when you’re on a wide driving range than when you’re on the golf course and you’ve got to hit it into a pretty narrow fairway.’