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THE NORTHERN TRUST MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 24, 2019

Bryson DeChambeau

Q. Here in New York City, backdrop of the Empire State Building. Tell us why you're here. Give us a recap.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Here for the Northern Trust Media Day. It's been incredible. Went to Bloomberg, FOX News, and now here up on top of the Empire State Building behind us and excited to be here and showing everyone what August 7 through 11 is going to mean. Liberty National is going to be an incredible venue and excited for the test of golf that comes at the Northern Trust.

Q. Thinking back on last year, what was your favorite moment?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Probably favorite but worst moment was 18th tee shot on the last day, hitting it way right. Probably 60, 70 yards right of where I was looking and actually got on the fairway, hit a clear shot to the green and was able to execute that shot up there to about -- we had no number, actually, we just guessed it a little bit and hit it up to 20 feet and 2-putted for the victory. That was a pretty cool moment.

Q. Walk me through the best or most impressive shot. Would you say that approach shot, nor?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I wouldn't say it was the most impressive shot. The most impressive shot was the 17th hole the last day. I wasn't hitting it particularly well that last week. I was struggling a little bit off the tee and a difficult tee shot for me and I had to hit it on the fairway on 17 in order to be able to get it up there to where I had a little wedge shot into the green and was able to execute that drive just perfectly and didn't overdraw it. Hit a great draw up there into the middle of the fairway and that sealed the deal for me.

Q. How excited are you to be back in New York City, Jersey City, to defend your title and play Liberty National?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I've never played Liberty National but it's always fun to come back and defend. Something I look forward to doing something every time it happens because that means I won the year before, and that's pretty cool.

For me it's going to be a great test to see if I can defend, because I haven't defended a tournament yet. I want to be able to do that and say I've done that in my career.

Q. Liberty National is hosting The Northern Trust for the third time. The past two times, Tiger Woods finished runner up and that was in 2009 and 2013. Now that he's back on the scene, how fun is it going to be trying to defend that title knowing he's going to want that W, too?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, hasn't won yet. I'll try to keep it the same way this time around. It will be fun. Tiger is a good dude. Lucky enough to call him a friend and he's somebody that I look up to. He's a good role model in the game of golf and I really appreciate what he's done for the game. He's definitely made the game more visible and allowed me to, shoot, it's allowed me to do what I do because of him. It's pretty special.

Q. Tell me about the added pressure now that the PGA TOUR is moving the Playoffs to three events and there's money at stake every step of the way?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The money is a result of your play and execution of shots. I don't really look at money as that big of a deal, although it's very appreciated for the amount we are playing for, no doubt. But it is exciting in the fact that it's only three events. It's not as long of a FedExCup series, but I think that's going to go well for all of us TOUR players in regards to health. We want to be ready to go and we want to give you guys the best show we can possibly give, and having four tournaments is a lot. Three tournaments is something I think we can all deal with and be ready to go for each and every week.

Q. Now that only 70 guys are moving on past The Northern Trust, does that change your approach heading into that tournament?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, sort of. You've got to get after it. If you're not inside the top 30 safely, you've got to play well and you've got to execute a lot. So that's something that we all have to re-evaluate as the time comes and our placements are what they are at that point in time.

Q. And New York City and Jersey City and just the whole tri-state area has so much energy. How excited are you to see all the fans come out to Liberty National?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It's fantastic to see the fans. They are an exciting bunch. Obviously the PGA Championship was pretty exciting. We had a lot of crazy fans out there but good fans, people that are very excited about the game and love the game, so I think it will be the same over here. Rowdy crowd is never a bad crowd.

Q. What's your practice routine for a non-tournament day, whether it's workout, putting, chipping driving?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It's definitely working out. I do that later in the day, though. For me it's mainly ball-striking. I'll do a little practice on the putting green, a little wedge work and maybe sure everything is firing on all cylinders. It's probably about a six-hour, seven-hour total day for me.

Q. What is the one tip you would recommend to a golfer?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The one tip I would recommend to a golfer has got to be -- the easiest one that's got to be keep your head still. That's the first thing.

One other thing that could be helpful for a higher-level player, golfer, is get something that feels repeatable, and the results show. So if it shows and some are repeatable, keep doing that motion. That's the best advice I can give.

Q. How do you feel about the rules changes and is there one that sticks out the most?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think they are good for the most part. I think the knee-drop one is a little awkward. It is what it is. I think that will be revised over time. I hope so. I think for the better for everyone, in the way it looks aesthetically. I like the flagstick change. That's been nice. It's helped in certain situations, and very appreciative of that.

Q. Wyndham put you up at a hotel last tight. Talk about the Wyndham Rewards Top-10 program and how much pressure that puts to making the regular season strong?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Absolutely, you want to be inside that Top-10 and get that extra cash. Something everybody is going to be looking forward to doing and I think it will kind of almost be like the first stage of the FedExCup Playoffs, sort of. But there's a lot of money at stake. I think it's great that it's rewarding players for a great season. It's something that I would have loved to have had last year, but definitely making everyone work harder, and I think a lot of people will play that tournament because of that Wyndham Rewards.

Q. Do you like coming into the tournament as the defending champion?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I absolutely love coming to the tournament being defending champion. That means I won. It certainly is an honor every time I get to defend a title.

Personally, I think this is a great venue, great golf course. Got a great backdrop, Manhattan skyline, and the golf course is incredible from what I've heard. I haven't really been on it yet, but I know Presidents Cup has been played there. Certainly looking forward to getting out and seeing the golf course and seeing what I can do to it.

Q. Do you like the energy of the New York golf fans?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, the energy of the golfing community out here is pretty ecstatic. People hype it up a lot and out there, there's going to be some rowdy crowds, which is always fun and entertaining. Even for us, we get a kick out of it sometimes. I'm extremely looking forward to the people out there when we play August 7 through 11.

Q. What are your thoughts on Liberty National?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, I haven't played Liberty National yet, and I know Presidents Cup has been played there. From what I've heard, it's an incredible layout and a great test of golf. Got a lot of strategy involved in it. You've got to hit some great shots off the tee. That's what I'm going to be looking to do.

Q. Are you playing well enough to win the FedExCup this year?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I wouldn't have said yes a couple weeks ago, but now, I think I've got a good chance. I'm moving in the right direction with my game and very confident about what I'm doing in regards to executing shots, the strategy I'm applying on golf courses, and the putting that I have right now.

Q. You're coming off a solid finish at the Travelers. How are you feeling overall about your game right now?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: For me, I feel a lot more confident than I did a couple weeks ago. Played well at the U.S. Open. Didn't execute a couple of tee shots like I would have liked to and that cost me some positioning placements, and this week, the same thing happened. I hit some shots that I wouldn't normally have been able to hit for the longest time in the past year. Last year I was able to do it but for some reason this year, I wasn't able to, and I'm starting to move in the right direction with that.

So I'm getting pretty confident under some pressure situations to be able to execute and perform the way I want to, so getting better.

Q. You shot a 64 Saturday. You mentioned after your round that you had switched out some of the heads on your golf clubs. How much do you think that contributes to your success?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I think a lot of it is equipment. For me, I've changed a lot recently in trying to figure out this wet condition stuff, when it's rainy and all that. It's been tough for me. I just don't perform as well. Trying to figure out and mitigate different variables to see how I can become more consistent, and that's the name of the game is being more consistent in every situation. Really working on trying to figure that out and I think a lot of it has to do with the head changes, which has been good. It's been good. It's just something that I've got to kind of get used to and take it with a grain of salt.

Q. Last year was so great for you, including those back-to-back wins. How much extra motivation is there to win the FedExCup this time around?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, shoot, I should have won it last year. I would have, had the system been different like it was with Vijay back in 2008 or 2009. Anyway, still, it led to an exciting finish with Tiger and Justin Rose being there and just gives me a little more energy to try and win it this year. I know the system is going to be a little different; somebody is going to have a ten-shot advantage over someone.

You just want to have a chance to win and I think over four days, a ten-shot difference can be swung. It can be swung. Statistically, they say it will be the same. We'll see how it goes.

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