THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 13, 2021

Doug Ghim

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. Obviously you're in great position going into Sunday. When you think, when you see this leaderboard filled with Europeans, filled with Americans who have been Ryder Cup guys, I mean this would be a new experience for you, but have you thought about the fact that you grew up watching the Ryder Cup, right? So I mean, do you think that it would be kind of like a preview version of the Ryder Cup when you see who is up on that leaderboard: Garcia, Westwood, DeChambeau, Justin Thomas? I mean those are guys that you expect to see in the Ryder Cup. But would you talk about that element to it, even though we can't, we probably can't put you there quite yet, but just the idea of being with those Ryder Cup guys tomorrow battling.

DOUG GHIM: Yeah, I don't know if you noticed, I'm like 257th in the world.

Q. Exactly. I understand that.

DOUG GHIM: Yeah, obviously always dreamed of being in a position like that. I think if you asked any of those players, though, there's nothing that is comparable to the Ryder Cup. It will be a special experience; it's the PLAYERS Championship in its own right. It will be very tightly contested with a bunch of great names, and to be associated with that is an honor and it's a dream come true and it's definitely something that I always thought I could get to, and I'm just grateful to have the chance to learn from it tomorrow and have that experience and I'll let you know hopefully in a couple of years' time maybe and I'll tell you how it compares in that time.

Q. A Ryder Cup would potentially compare with this you mean?

DOUG GHIM: Yeah, we'll see.

Q. Did you notice that you were in the solo lead at one point after you made the birdie on 14?

DOUG GHIM: No. I mean I knew I was up there, I knew that even if I made the birdie putt that someone was going to be up there and there was definitely scorable holes and again, these are the world's best though. My goal is just to get in the clubhouse, post a good number, be around the lead, if not in it, and yeah, I mean, again, like having the lead is great, but it really, really doesn't matter until you walk off the 18th hole tomorrow.

So especially coming from an inexperienced position, not having the lead going into tomorrow might even be a good thing. So, yeah, I know everyone would probably mirror the same opinion, but this golf course is so difficult and to think about having the lead so early in the tournament, I mean I know it feels like it's late in the tournament, but it's still very, very early. So just got to do the best I can to execute the way I've been doing and we'll see. I'll learn from it no matter what.

Q. What were you trying to do with your second shot on 16?

DOUG GHIM: I was trying to hit the green like everybody else. Yeah, I mean I didn't know if I had enough with a 5-iron to get to the front, but really was trying to get it somewhere in the front left, maybe in the front right bunker, and it's just really hard to get situated in pine straw and you don't want to ground the club because the ball could move.

It's just an uncomfortable situation at the end, and as a person who likes to draw the ball, it's really hard to get your self to commit aiming right. Yeah, it just came off left. I don't know exactly what happened for the ball to get into the bunker, but especially where it was in the bunker made it even more difficult.

But at the end of the day, bogey's not going to kill me out of this tournament, so try to give myself a birdie putt and then it didn't happen and then I tried to give myself a par putt and actually had a pretty good read and it just wasn't as fast as I thought it was. But bogeys never will take you out of this tournament, and yeah, you're just trying to put yourself in a good position tomorrow.

If I was in that position tomorrow in the afternoon, it would be a different situation, but today you're just trying to keep yourself in it and there's a lot of golf left.

Q. You said you were 257th in the world, haven't contended on a stage like this yet. Fans are back out here; did you hear any, who is this guy or never heard of this guy or were you received well?

DOUG GHIM: I haven't really noticed. Everyone has been super kind and, yeah, they have been -- I think there was some confusion of who was who when I was playing with Sungjae. So that was pretty funny. But no, I mean it was great. It's great to have fans back. It's great to have my first PLAYERS be with fans. It's not quite the same experience without a fan base, and playing last week too was a lot of fun. So the TOUR's done a great job of managing the field or the fans on the golf course and it's been great. So, yeah, it will be a special experience tomorrow, and yeah, I'm just looking forward to the challenge.

Q. What do you have to do tomorrow to win THE PLAYERS Championship?

DOUG GHIM: Hit the ball in the hole faster than anybody else. So I got to try to figure out how to do that.

Q. How did you feel today on the golf course?

DOUG GHIM: I felt great. It's THE PLAYERS Championship; you're going to be nervous, best players in the world on a hard golf course. So I did good managing those nerves, and I'm sure they'll be there tomorrow, but again, it's a great thing that I feel nervous. It means that I care. It means that I have a chance, and yeah, I mean, the best way for me to get more comfortable is to keep putting myself in that position. So I'm excited to be nervous tomorrow and whether it goes my way or not it really doesn't matter. It's hopefully not my last chance in a PLAYERS Championship and just going to look at it that way.

Q. How crazy would it be, No. 257 in the world, one top-10 finish in 18 months on TOUR, to win THE PLAYERS?

DOUG GHIM: I mean, I have the same amount of chance as everybody else. Everyone gets to tee off -- I'm sure there's odds that say that other players have a better chance, but at the end of the day there's no defense being played on my ball more than anybody else's, so I if I go and play the way that I know how to play and if I play the way that I did today, I don't see why I couldn't win. I'm not saying that I have the most chance to win, but who knows, we'll see.