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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 10, 2017

Blayne Barber

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Q. Have you played here before? Do you have any preconceived notions coming here?
BLAYNE BARBER: Yeah, I played the Junior PLAYERS, AJGA twice, and I actually won the Florida State Amateur here in 2009. So I have good memories here, I like the golf course, I'm a Florida boy, so I feel comfortable on Bermuda grass, and I grew up coming to the PLAYERS as a young kid, so it's fun to be here playing for the first time.

Q. So growing up, seeing PLAYERS as a young guy, how do you feel being here actually doing this? What's the thought process like?
BLAYNE BARBER: I'm trying to just savor and enjoy the week. Every week's a grind, you're working hard, you're trying to improve your game and be as prepared as you can to play and mentality's the same this week but I'm just trying to savor it as much as I can and really just be thankful for -- this has been a life-long goal to play, so hopefully this is the first of many, many PLAYERS and I'm just trying to take it all in and enjoy it being able to get out there inside the ropes.

Q. Having played this before, do you think you have an advantage?
BLAYNE BARBER: It helps, obviously, I have great memories on the golf course, but it's a new course. They didn't change a ton, but there's some subtleties to the changes, and then you have 12 that's a totally different hole. I think that it's, in tournament conditions, it's tough, so I have good memories here which I'm thankful for, but it's like any other golf tournament, you got to go out and perform and compete.

Q. What's going to be the key to your success this week?
BLAYNE BARBER: My game's really good, so for me personally I just need to stay patient and calm. It's easy, when you're comfortable, when you've been somewhere before, somewhere you've won before, it's easy to place too high of expectations on yourself, so just really trying to go out there and create a game plan, stick to it, and just kind of let the chips fall where they may.

Q. So your thoughts on 17? The iconic hole. I guess with the water around that it can look intimidating, but a lot of players say it's really not. What's your opinion?
BLAYNE BARBER: Yeah, it's a pretty basic shot. It's a big landing area, it's only 135, 145 yards. And the wind makes it tricky, obviously, because there's no miss and there's just a lot of pressure because there's a lot of people around and it's an intimidating hole from that aspect, but, yeah, you just got to go in there and control your nerves the best you can and it's a pretty basic wedge shot.

Q. What do you think your thought's going to be when you tee off?
BLAYNE BARBER: I'm sure there will just be a lot of good excitement. There's always a little level of anxiousness and excitement at the start of the day and it will be the same this week.

Q. One word to describe the PLAYERS?
BLAYNE BARBER: Exciting.

Q. Growing up watching THE PLAYERS and now being able to play in it, is that a little bit surreal?
BLAYNE BARBER: It is, yeah. I've said a couple times I'm really just trying to take this week in and savor it and enjoy the experience, because I've wanted to do this my whole life. So it's really cool to finally be here inside the ropes.

Q. Have you ever played here before, obviously I'm sure you played this course before in your long history, right?
BLAYNE BARBER: Yeah, I played here a few times in some junior events and then some amateur events. So I've been out to the Stadium Course quite a bit.

Q. Any special holes here in your time playing here, any special shots?
BLAYNE BARBER: Obviously the whole back nine's really exciting, a lot of really cool opportunities to score. 16 being a reachable par-5, 17's iconic, 18's tough. But I won the State Amateur here in 2009 and I remember I didn't make a par on the back nine. I had like three bogeys, a double, and four birdies or something, five birdies. It was crazy. Shot even par and didn't make a par. So that was kind of fun.

Q. I'm assuming there will be a lot of family and friends here coming out to support you?
BLAYNE BARBER: Yeah, I have a lot of people coming over from Lake City, which is cool. My high school golf team, one of my teammates from my high school days is the coach and they're going to come out and walk around a little bit. So it's a fun week.

Q. From the practice rounds and everything, obviously there's been some changes to this course, and the greens are pretty firm. What's your overall take on this course as you head into tomorrow?
BLAYNE BARBER: It's a tough golf course, you really got to be strategic and pick your spots. It is playing firm and fast early in the week, so it's only going to get more firm and fast. So it's a good test. I think if you play well you can score, and if you're a little off it can cost you.

Q. As a first-time player here, is this kind of like the next step, a stepping stone in your career to kind of, I don't want to say progress your career, but being able to come into THE PLAYERS with arguably the best field on the PGA TOUR, is that sort of the next step in your progression?
BLAYNE BARBER: Yeah, just being, having the opportunity to play in these events, the more you can do it, the more comfortable you're going to get and you can evaluate yourself off of everyone else. And I'm just grateful to be here and see if my game can stand up to it, so looking forward to the week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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