THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 14, 2022

Doug Ghim

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. Doug, what did you learn from your experience here last year?

DOUG GHIM: How badly I wanted to win. I got to watch someone win for the first time at the pro level, let alone being at THE PLAYERS Championship. It was a valuable experience. It was a painful one.

I took pain away from it, and I think that's a good thing because it tells me that I want to win.

Q. Do you think being in that moment, seeing it up close with J.T. making that run won't be as new to you this year?

DOUG GHIM: Yeah, I mean, I think the thing that stuck with me was that the way he played, he made mistakes, played basically how I played the first three days, basically how I've played the first three days this week, and just realized I don't really have to try to do anything different.

Excited for the opportunity this afternoon.

Q. Why do you think it's clicking again this week?

DOUG GHIM: I mean, I love this place. I love playing against the best players. I think it makes me more patient, and so I think I've been more patient this week.

I had a rough couple of weeks, but the game felt good, so it was a bit frustrating to not see any results, but couldn't find a better time to find them. Excited for the afternoon.

Q. Was it love at first sight at this place?

DOUG GHIM: No, I hated it as a junior golfer. I remember I was pretty nervous last year because I didn't really know how I would do, but it told me pretty quickly how much better at golf I got since I was a junior player. I like it better now. I'm a better driver of the ball than I used to be. I get excited every single time I come back here.

Q. How many times did you play in the Junior Players?

DOUG GHIM: I played three times. I didn't play very well my first two years and then I played bad the first half of the tournament my last year playing, and I think I shot a bogey-free 69 the last day and finished top 10, so only been good vibes since.

Q. You were 257th in the world last year, and you've only risen like five spots. How frustrating is that after being in contention here last year?

DOUG GHIM: Yeah, it's a process. I still know that I'm a better player than I was a year ago, and I guess somewhat it is progress, five spots.

Yeah, I've learned a lot more. I've been in a lot cooler, bigger places and positions. It only gets easier every single time you get there. It does not mean it ever gets easy, but yeah, just knowing what it'll feel like will help me going into this week, and it helps to play a couple holes this morning, too.

Q. How many spots do you think you'll rise by next year this time?

DOUG GHIM: As many as I can. That's all I'm going to say.

Q. How do you kill the next two and a half hours?

DOUG GHIM: Eat, just hang out. I've got some family and friends with me this week, so it'll be easy.

Q. What was the pressure that you felt last year playing on Sunday, and how do you feel like you handled it?

DOUG GHIM: Yeah, I mean, I did the best that I could. I played actually pretty well for 15 holes and had three bad holes. It was pretty immense, and the only reason why is because it was everything I had ever dreamed of, being in that position, playing with a player that I've respected my entire life.

To get the opportunity to play meant everything to me, and losing also made me more motivated to get back there. Yeah, just excited to be back.

Q. Last year crowds were huge. Today obviously with it being Monday won't feel quite so big. Do you think that will help a little bit?

DOUG GHIM: I mean, they're all going to be -- last year the crowds were huge, but it was also a COVID crowd. I don't know. I don't know how I'll anticipate it. I'm expecting a lot of people. There will still be a lot more people in the last following groups, and I think that's where I'll fall.

The energy from the crowd is really cool. It's something that I've always fed off of, and yeah, it'll be fun, and I look forward to having everyone out watching.