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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 13, 2016

Jonas Blixt

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

ALEX URBAN: We'll go ahead and get started. Obviously playing well through two rounds, you live here in Jacksonville at Jacksonville Beach. Talk about playing well through two rounds here and your comfort level on the golf course.

JONAS BLIXT: Well, I love living here, but this golf course, I never feel comfortable on it. It kind of brings the best out of you and the worst out of you. So, just trying to stay positive and hit the best shot you can at every point and I've been working out pretty well the last two days.

ALEX URBAN: Questions?

Q. You mentioned an up-and-down on 15, is that correct, to kind of get off the bogey train, I think you were describing it as. Can you kind of walk us through what you were able to do there?
JONAS BLIXT: No, you go through patches where you play well and you kind of get a couple birdies in a row and you kind of get going and sometimes it goes the other way around. And I was kind of -- I made some stupid bogey on 13 and kind of deserved the bogey on 14, and wasn't looking great on 15.

So you kind of, you know, you want to get out of there. And I got a good up-and-down on 15 and kind of changed my mindset and kind of, so I can get going and start making birdies again.

Q. What's been the key on the par-5s for you this week and are you surprised by the success that you're having at 8-under on those holes?
JONAS BLIXT: I've been able to hit the fairways off the tees and get in good angles into the hole locations. So, always giving myself a good opportunity to make birdie.

Q. When guys live here they play at different times of year and it just isn't like how it is this week, this is your fourth start here at this event, so from that standpoint are you getting more comfortable with how the venue plays during THE PLAYERS?
JONAS BLIXT: That's quite a change compared to what we usually play. We usually have the wind coming out of the north and having a lot shorter clubs in to certain holes and longer clubs into others. The ball runs a little bit more.

Yeah, it's a little different, I would say that. But you still know where you can't miss and where you should miss and where you want to putt from an how the grain kind of goes on the greens and how you need to stay away from certain things and stuff.

Q. About four or five FSU players in this field and yesterday Hank Lebioda was named ACC Player of the Year, what's going on with that program now? Do you think it's heading towards that Georgia, Alabama level of consistent good play year after year?
JONAS BLIXT: Well, I think it's the coach, Trey Jones he really brought it to another level. I was his first recruiting class and nothing against the guys that were on the team at that point, but we weren't doing that great. And then he kept bringing in better and better players. And they're a powerhouse right now, in my opinion. So, he's just, he's one of those coaches trying to get better every day and he's doing a really good job at it.

Q. As mentioned, until this week your track record hasn't been all that great here. Colt shoots 63, his track record hasn't been all that great here. What is it about this course maybe that guys that have struggled maybe a little bit in the past can suddenly find something out here and get going?
JONAS BLIXT: This golf course is so penal when you first a golf shot and sometimes you kind of want to recover and do something to try and get a little, try a shot that you may not be that comfortable with and usually that ends up being worse.

If you can play smart, even when you're in trouble -- I had a chance on 14 today, I probably could have gone at the green, but knowing the golf course and where I could be for my third shot, I decided just to lay up and try to wedge it in and I almost made par. But it's just one of those golf courses, you can't take a chance, really. And if you do, you are probably going to pay the ultimate price.

Q. Is it one of those courses that can you kind of unlock the secret pretty quickly? Like you said, maybe a couple years ago you would have attempted that shot. But you knew that better this year?
JONAS BLIXT: Oh, it can shut the door on you pretty quick, too. So, no, I just feel like it really, really starts with -- it's one of those golf courses you cannot miss the fairway. If you miss the fairway, you kind of got to play for par, from a certain angle to that pin. And if you hit the fairway, you can attack the hole and try to make a lot of birdies. So you got to take advantage of the chances you get, because you're going to miss fairways. And, yeah, it just comes down to it's really penal off the tee.

Q. I heard that you and a lot of the other Swedes practice together down here. Who all is in that group, Lingmerth Anna Nordqvist and a few others and how often do you guys really do that?
JONAS BLIXT: I think it's just me and Lingmerth of the Swedes that live here. But we got a really good group of friends and players that live here and go out and play and do other stuff and it's just a great place to live, in my opinion.

Q. You're one of the guys, you work out pretty regularly it looks like. Boo and Colt don't exactly do that. Is it different strokes for different folks as far as whether you want to be the really super fit guy like Rory or just do whatever it is that Colt and Boo want to do or not do.
JONAS BLIXT: I think golf is such a complicated sport where you just got to be yourself and you got to play your on game. You can't try to be someone different. And when you do, you usually fail. There's players who actually play better doing something different, but some people lose weight and they start playing horrible and you got to kind of move from when you're a child, so I don't think you should go away from that too much.

Q. I was wondering, you had a couple of top-10s early this season. Did you see this coming this week the first two rounds? Did you feel like you were coming in in good shape?
JONAS BLIXT: No, not at all. I wasn't playing great. I was hitting it decent last week, just didn't have my tee shots going where I wanted them. I know how you really got to hit your tee shots well here. So I was a little worried about it. And I worked with my coach Jorge Parada in the beginning of the week and we kind of did some stuff and it has really worked out really well so far.

Q. How many times have you played this course just when you're around, when you're here at home?
JONAS BLIXT: Probably two to three times a week. Something like that. So I've played quite a bit of the.

ALEX URBAN: All right. Thanks, Jonas, for your time.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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