Amanda Balionis has interviewed some of golf’s biggest stars, but one conversation with Dustin Johnson at the 2020 Masters still stands out. For the CBS Sports reporter, the interview was memorable because of what she chose not to do. Unlike many newbie interviewers, she didn’t fill the silence when Johnson struggled to explain what winning at Augusta National meant to him.

Speaking on Skratch, Balionis identified Johnson’s emotional reaction after claiming the 2020 green jacket as the interview she was probably most proud of. She explained that the pandemic-era tournament was an unusually heavy experience.

Yet the moment’s lasting significance came down to a simple decision.

“There’s a lot. I mean, there are so many moments that I feel so honored and privileged to be a part of. But Dustin Johnson, I think it was just such a heavy time for everyone, right? We’re in COVID, it’s November, there are no patrons there,” Amanda Balionis told Claire Rogers during a Skratch interview.

“And I was doing this interview that had never been done before after the Green Jacket ceremony to ask the question that I think got to the core of who he really is and what he so deeply cared about, and then lay out and say nothing while he processed and let the emotions take him over. I think if I would’ve tried to insert myself in that moment of silence before he got emotional, I don’t think he gets emotional. I don’t think we ever get to see truly how much that meant to him.”

Johnson delivered a historic performance at Augusta National on November 15, 2020. He finished at 20-under 268, setting a new Masters scoring record and securing his first green jacket. He delivered a five-shot victory over Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im.

It was his second major championship, following his 2016 U.S. Open victory, and his 24th PGA Tour win. Despite the commanding result, the Masters held deep personal meaning for the South Carolina native.

Johnson had grown up dreaming of winning at Augusta. His brother, Austin, was also part of the journey, serving as his caddie. After the final putt, the brothers shared an emotional embrace, while Austin struggled to contain his tears.

The achievement’s significance became even clearer during Johnson’s interview with Amanda Balionis after the green jacket ceremony. Asked to reflect on what the victory meant to his younger self, Johnson struggled to put his feelings into words.

“I definitely wouldn’t believe myself. It’s a dream come true,” Johnson said, describing the lifelong ambition of becoming a Masters champion.

His voice soon began to crack. He wiped away tears, paused, and admitted, “It’s hard to talk.”

For Balionis, the interview’s defining moment was the pause after she asked her question. She believed stepping in too quickly could have prevented viewers from witnessing the depth of Johnson’s emotions.

She added that letting the moment unfold gave viewers a better sense of how much the victory meant to him.

The approach reflected a principle Amanda Balionis had already discussed in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 Masters. During an interview with the Big Lead, she described her responsibility as creating space for an interviewee to express authentic feelings.

“If he can gather his words, great, but if he can’t, that silence and his reaction probably says more than words ever could,” she said at the time.

She also said that the interview had shocked her. She has been interviewing Dustin Johnson since 2011. According to her, he usually answers the question, downplays his performance, and stays in control of the conversation.

But she believes that when he won the 2020 Masters and Tiger Woods put the Green Jacket on him, it would have hit Johnson that he had fulfilled his childhood dream. Amanda Balionis believes that feeling would have made him give that interview as “his most authentic self,” which is “not something he always does in the public eye.”

Known for his composed demeanor during competition, Dustin Johnson had found it difficult to maintain that composure while discussing a dream he had pursued since childhood.

The significance of the exchange extends beyond one emotional afternoon at Augusta National. Amanda Balionis revealed on Skratch that the experience became an early lesson in her CBS career.

“I’m happy it happened so early in my career with CBS because there’s a lot of times now where I go back to that when I start to see a player start to get vulnerable. I remind myself of that moment often of just don’t say anything, and it’s okay. And it, it typically creates a much better moment than anything I would have to say anyway,” she added.

The lesson carries particular weight given her experience covering professional golf. Balionis joined the PGA Tour as an in-house reporter in 2011, then joined CBS Sports’ golf coverage in 2017 and became a full-time member of the team in 2018.

As she noted, she has experienced many other landmark moments. This includes Phil Mickelson’s historic 2021 PGA Championship victory, when he became the oldest men’s major champion at 50. She has also interviewed prominent figures throughout her career, including Tiger Woods and Ernie Els.

Still, Johnson’s Masters interview holds a distinct place in her reflections because it reinforced an important lesson. She learned that the interviewer does not always need to control the conversation.

Nearly six years after Johnson’s record-setting victory, Amanda Balionis’s recollection reminds us that a reporter’s restraint shapes some of golf’s most revealing interviews.