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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

May 12, 2018

Dustin Johnson

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Q. How do you feel like your you're playing?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I feel like I'm playing pretty well. I hit a lot of really good shots that didn't end up in good spots. Just trying to judge the wind, I felt like it was kind of difficult. It was switching a little bit and it was strong enough to where it really would affect the ball. But I hit a great shot there on 14. I felt like I hit a club where I couldn't go over the green, and the wind just laid down right when I hit, and went about a yard too far over into the back bunker, which is terrible. Made a good up-and-down. Then kind of the same thing on 18. I hit it right at the flag with a club that I thought there was no chance it could even fly that far, and it flew all the way almost to the hole. But again, it was two yards maybe too far or it's right there in the leather.

Q. What was it?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: 9-iron from 184.

Q. When you see --
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I was, I thought I was struggling to carry it on top of the hill, like on top of the ridge, which is where I wanted to fly it. Flew it all the way to the flag.

Q. When you see the numbers that Webb's putting up, what's your reaction to that? When you see how well you're playing.
DUSTIN JOHNSON: He's playing good. I feel like, too, I've -- I felt like today and yesterday, a lot of times even in the fairway coming into these greens, I felt like I was in between clubs a lot, which when you're in between clubs it's really tough to get it close to the flags. You can't spin it enough to stop it and you got to have a good number and hit it the right distance if you want to get close to these pins. Webb's obviously playing very, very well and doing everything very good.

Q. Given all the trouble that's around this golf course, is there a number that you would consider an insurmountable lead? Is there any such thing here?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't know, I don't think so. It all depends on the weather and who is leading and how they play. This golf course is tough. If it's windy tomorrow like it was today and you're not very sharp, you're going to struggle around here. But you can also shoot a really good score in these conditions.

Q. When you started the day eight shots behind, what were you hoping to achieve by the end of the day? Is it frustrating at all?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, not really. I was going out trying to -- I knew it was going to play very fairly difficult this afternoon. I wanted to go out and shoot a good score. I can't control what anybody else does, just myself. I played solid and felt like I put up a good number.

Q. Are you surprised at all by the setup this week and how gettable the course has been?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. If you take Webb out of the equation, the golf course is playing about like it always does. He's the only one that's going really low. So I don't think -- I think the setup's been very good. I think the TOUR's done a great job, the course is in fantastic shape, and I'm definitely pleased with the way the golf course is.

Q. What's been the difference for you this week versus previous trips to this place?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Putting a little better, hitting it a little better, hitting a few more fairways, just like any time you're playing better than you did the year before.

Q. How much does it mean to you to try to still be No. 1 when you leave this place tomorrow?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I definitely -- it definitely means a lot. I want to stay there. I feel like I've worked hard to keep the No. 1 position, but I'm going to have to go out tomorrow and play well if I want to stay there.

Q. What's your plan tomorrow besides play golf?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: Shoot as low as I can, whatever that is.

Q. Do you change at all if you're ten back or five back?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. I think I play the same no matter what.

Q. If you ever are behind enough where you think you might have a chance, do you ever try and get overly aggressive here, or is that a trap you can fall into?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I think this golf course you kind of -- it doesn't really let you get too overly aggressive. For me I'm just going to try to play the shots that the hole requires and try to get it in there close. I feel like I always play fairly aggressive, so if I hit good shots I'm going to hit it close to the hole.

Q. Does this course make you play less aggressive than others?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, I don't think so. Just all depends. Depends on the wind and the flags and how the greens are bouncing. But, yeah, there's definitely a lot of times where you can't really fire at flags.

Q. Nice to come back and make a good number after the tree?
DUSTIN JOHNSON: No, that was a nice 4 there for sure.

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