When Dustin Johnson says he didn’t touch a club for nearly a month in the brief PGA Tour off-season, he isn’t speaking in generalities.
He means he really didn’t touch a club. Well, almost.
“I might have touched one,” Johnson said with a smile Friday. “I didn’t swing it, though.”
Johnson believes in a good-old-fashioned time off — something many of his tour peers simply don’t find to be much of a priority anymore. And though it might have cost him in his early-season rounds this year, he seems to be rounding his swing into fine form.
With four birdies in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the second round of the Northern Trust Open, while avoiding any big mishaps on the greens, Johnson shot five-under-par 66 to put himself in yet another strong position heading into the weekend at Riviera Country Club.
The nine-time tour winner is two shots off the lead of 30-year-old non-winner Jason Kokrak, who recorded eight birdies in notching the second-best score of the week — a seven-under 64. At 10 under, Kokrak is one shot ahead of journeyman Chez Reavie (67). Troy Merritt and Bubba Watson are tied with Johnson at eight under, with Marc Leishman alone at seven under.
Johnson, 31, finished 15th in Tiger Woods’ unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in early December, and didn’t play again until the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii a month later, when he tied for 10th.
He took two more weeks off before competing at Torrey Pines, and rested another week before heading to Pebble Beach and now Los Angeles.
Johnson is not a guy who’s going to feel remotely guilty about that.
“You’ve got to take a break at some point,” he reasoned. “At least I do. I’ve got to take some time off.”
Asked what he did on his vacation, Johnson, the father of a 1-year-old son with fiancee Paulina Gretzky, grinned and said, “There’s a lot of things you can do other than golf. I do them all.”
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Bubba Watson cradles the winner’s trophy on the 18th green after rallying for a victory in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Sunday.
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Dakota Watson, who is 18 months old, romps on the 18th green as father Bubba Watson accepts the winner’s trophy for the Northern Trust Open.
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Bubba Watson waves to fans after hitting his approach at the 18th hole on Sunday during the final round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Bubba Watson walks ahead of Jason Kokrak toward the 18th fairway.
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Bubba Watson waves to fans after making a birdie on the 17th hole that put him in the lead of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday at Riviera Country Club.
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Bubba Watson slams a long drive during a round of 68 on Sunday to win the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera Country Club. He finished four rounds at 15 under par.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 7/54
Jason Kokrak falls to the ground after missing a birdie putt on the 18th hole that would’ve put him in a tie for the lead.
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Adam Scott hits from the trees surrounding the green on the 10th hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open. Scott saved par on the hole.
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Fans receive high-fives from K.J. Choi as he walks to the 15th hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday at Riviera Country Club.
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Jason Kokrak blasts out of a greenside bunker at No. 16, helping him save par during the final round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 11/54
Steve Stricker hits out of a fairway trap on the eighth hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
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Dustin Johnson hits a shot out of the rough at No. 8 during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
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K.J. Choi watches his drive on the par-three 14th hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 14/54
Adam Scott watches his drive land on the green while on his way to a biridie at the sixth hole during the final round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) 15/54
Rory McIlroy puts at No. 1 during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday at Riviera Country Club.
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Dustin Johnson lines up a putt on the eighth hole during the third orund of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday at Riviera Country Club.
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Bubba Watson tees off on the fourth hole Saturday during the third round of Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Chez Reavie hits from a bunker to the third green during the third round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Troy Merritt drives from the second tee during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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Hideki Matsuyama lines up a putt on the first hole during round the third round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Kevin Chappell tees off at No. 2 during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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K.J. Choi reacts after sinking a putt at No. 3 during the third round of the Northern Trust open on Saturday.
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Charl Schwartzel hits around a tree from the rough along the first fairway at Riviera Country Club on Saturday.
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Rory McIlroywatches his tee shot at No. 2 during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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Jason Kokrak takes his shot out of a fairway bunker on the seventh hole during the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday.
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Bubba Watson acknowledges the crowd after finishing the third round of the Northern Trust Open on Saturday at Riviera Country Club.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press) 27/54
Spectators lean over the rope to watch Rory McIlroy hit out of the rough along the 18th fairway at Riviera Country Club on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 28/54
Jason Kokrak acknowledges the crowd Friday after finishing the 18th hole at Riviera Country Club. Kokrak leads the Northern Trust Open at 10 under par after a seven-under 64 on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 29/54
Chez Reavie reacts after sinking a birdie putt at No. 18 to finish the second round with a four-under-par 67. He’s in second place after two rounds of the Northern Trust Open at nine under.
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Bubba Watson hits a chip shot from the rough on the 17th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open.
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Justin Rose hits out of a sand trap at No. 9 on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Rory McIlroy hits his tee shot at No. 11 on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. McElroy is tied with seven others for seventh at six under.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 33/54
Bubba Watson tosses his putter after missing a birdie putt on the 12th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday. Watson is tied for third at eight under after two rounds.
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Jason Kokrak hits his approach shot into the 18th green during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
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As afternoon shadows lengthen across Riviera Country Club, leader Jason Kokrak follows through on his approach shot into the 18th green during the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday.
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The kikuyu grass flies as Rory McIlroy hits out of the rough along the 12th fairway Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Ernie Els hits out of a greenside bunker at the 10th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
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Jason Kokrak hits a chip shot onto the 17th green during the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday.
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Justin Rose hits from under the branches of a tree at No. 10 on Friday during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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Rory McIlroy hits from the rough at No. 10 during the second round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Friday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 41/54
James Hahn, the Northern Trust Open winner last year, hits out of a sand trap at the 10th hole during the second round of the Northern Trust Open on Friday. Hahn missed the cut at four over.
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An aerial view of Riviera Country Club, site of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament, taken from the MetLife blimp on Friday.
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Camilo Villegas tees off on the ninth hole during first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Camilo Villegas reacts after sinking a birdie putt on the eighth hole during the first round of Northern Trust Open.
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Jordan Spieth prepares to tee off during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Jordan Spieth chips onto a green during the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Rory McIlroy doffs his cap after finishing the first round of the Northern Trust Open golf tournament on Thursday at Riviera Country Club.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 48/54
Justin Thomas and his caddie line up a putt during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Justin Thomas reacts after missing a putt during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
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Fred Couples tees off during the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club on Thursday.
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Fred Couples fist-bumps Justin Thomas after both sank long birdie putts at the fifth hole during the first round of the Northern Trust Open.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 52/54
Bubba Watson tees off at No. 9 during the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.
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James Hahn, the 2015 winner, lines up a putt during the first round of Northern Trust Open on Thursday at Riviera Country Club.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) 54/54
Justin Rose lines up a putt during the first round of the Northern Trust Open on Thursday.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) With a low round of 66 heading into this week, and only four scores in the 60s among his 12 rounds in 2016, Johnson wasn’t overly disappointed, because he’d done so little practicing.
“I was playing terrible — to me, I was,” he said. “Just wasn’t striking it good with the irons. Wasn’t hitting it solid with the driver. Everything was just a little bit off.
“But I put in a lot of good work last week and this week.”
Johnson, who speaks with a sleepy-eyed nonchalance, doesn’t seem to get worked up over most things. Many players fret over the smallest of changes to their equipment, yet Johnson switched out his TaylorMade driver and irons this week. He said he had no concerns about the change.
“I felt really comfortable,” he said. “It seems to be working so far. I haven’t hit any balls where the yardages came up weird or anything. Everything’s going how I’ve been planning it to go.”
If Johnson even sets goals, winning at Riviera has to be high on the list. He has finished second here the last two years, with a third and fourth also on the ledger.
“I have no bad vibes or anything here,” he said. “I love coming back here.”
Kokrak (pronounced COKE-rack) goes into the weekend with the first 36-hole lead of his career. The closest he has come to winning in four-plus years on the tour is a tie for second in the 2012 Frys.com Open.
One of the tour’s big hitters, averaging 310 yards a drive this season, Kokrak simply overpowered Riviera in making eight birdies to go with one bogey.
He made fours on all three par-fives, with No. 17 being the most spectacular. On the 597-yard hole, Kokrak bombed a 321-yard drive and used his four-wood to flight a 271-yard approach to 25 feet short of the flag, in the rough. He got up and down from there for this third birdie in a four-hole stretch.
At the par-three 14th, Kokrak nearly made a hole in one, hitting to eight inches. At 15, he hit an iron to 2 1/2 feet for birdie.
Riviera has not favored Kokrak in the past. His best finish in three previous appearances was a tie for 41st.
“It’s been a struggle to learn how to play this golf course,” he said. “It’s old school. It’s very hard.”
tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com
