MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 7, 2022

Zach Johnson

Quick Quotes

ZACH JOHNSON: It was very humid early then windy late. The sun came out, which brought all that. It was weird. It was a misty morning, right?

Q. Difficult to pick a club?

ZACH JOHNSON: Very difficult to pick a club in the wind. I had one situation where it was like, okay, I think this is kind of a no brainer, and that was on 17. Very difficult to pull the right club.

I mean, commitment was everything. With a gust like this, solid shots can still end up in very difficult conditions.

Q. How much did the conditions change by the hour and even by the minute here?

ZACH JOHNSON: The wind started to really pick up for us when we got to about 9. 8, 9. Prior to that, there wasn't much. You just kind of had to trust the compass because it's a west wind. Is it west/southwest, is it west/northwest? That's what it is, right?

I had a couple of wedge shots that, holy cow, that didn't do what it was supposed to do, what I anticipated. Again, especially off the tee, solid shots are still going to work out. It's just you've got to be maybe a little more conservative on your approach shots.

I'll tell you what, if we get the winds we're supposed to get tomorrow, this will be easy.

Q. How would you assess your first round?

ZACH JOHNSON: I'd give it about a C. C-plus maybe. Actually, I putted well on the back. I chipped it well on the back. I made some nice saves. I had some opportunities I probably let go. I also put myself in some precarious spots and managed to escape.

I was on the 18 tee at 1-over. I hit a terrible tee shot. If I could have made a good tee shot there, it would have made that hole a whole lot easier. I would have taken 1-over considering some of the spots I was in.

Q. You always have to take the big picture of things as the Ryder Cup captain. What do you make of what your buddy Tiger is doing here?

ZACH JOHNSON: What is he doing? I shouldn't say that. The fact that he's walking these grounds and playing golf, I'm not sure it's -- it's just difficult to explain or articulate because we truly -- none of us really know what he had to go through.

We can guess. We can speculate this, that, or the other. We know there was obviously at least one procedure. My guess is there was multiple, I don't know. I've communicated with him a fair amount, but I'm not going to dig into that. It's none of my business.

Just the fact that, one, he's alive, considering what that accident was about. Two, that he's made a comeback to this point to be able to compete is -- it's phenomenal. Now, it's also a situation where you're talking about an individual that, I mean, are we really that surprised?

So in the times and opportunities and experiences, obviously being a friend of his and getting to know him a little bit, he loves challenges. I'm not going to slight what he went through because that's different than being 6-over par and trying to win a golf tournament, but he likes challenges. I mean, he's the best player I've ever played with, and I say that in all aspects. He is the best competitor I've ever witnessed.

So I hope it's not his last, and I hope we see more of it.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about Aaron Jarvis, grew up on Cayman Islands. Have you ever been around anybody who has more fun shooting 81? It seems like he's just happy to be here.

ZACH JOHNSON: I'd love to say that about all my peers, we have fun shooting 81, but that's not accurate. Great kid. I don't want to say happy-go-lucky because he wasn't skipping around, but he was thoroughly enjoying it. He was really soaking in the people.

He mentioned a couple times that he couldn't believe, based on his practice rounds, I guess the weeks leading up -- because I think he had four or five of them -- he didn't expect this many people. I just think it's awesome having the people back, considering the last two.

So great kid. Obviously a great collegiate player and great young amateur. His coach is on the bag. You know, this is one of those situations where frankly I can't fathom at his age because I was terrible back then, but he's going to be a better player regardless of what his scorecard is. That's the bottom line. He's going to learn a lot. Accept the fact that you're playing a very difficult golf course is trying conditions, and you earned it.

You know, find some confidence in the fact that you earned your way here and relish the opportunity. My guess is he's going to be a better player as a result. It's just a matter of where he can go from there. He's got a lot of tools.

Q. Do you wish you had somebody like yourself when you first played here like he had you? He was very complimentary.

ZACH JOHNSON: I did. I was fortunate. That was nice of him. He's a sweet kid. I don't know what the protocols are here. I don't know that anybody truly does, but I appreciate -- I certainly appreciate how they welcome all of us former champions back with open arms each and every time.

I love how the fact that, if you qualify for this event, you're extremely welcomed. And then I really, really appreciate my rookie Masters I got paired with a champion. I don't know if that's normal, but I got to play with Mark O'Meara, and I didn't make the cut. He did maybe by a couple, but I know I outhit him, and he out short-gamed me by 35 shots in two days. That's what it felt like.

I don't know if it's strategy on their part. All I'm saying is it was eye opening, and it's Mark O'Meara, I mean, he's just tremendous. That's my experience. If that's their strategy, it's tremendous.

Q. One more thing about Jarvis. Any question or any comment that surprised you?

ZACH JOHNSON: No. We were walking down the 2nd fairway, and he was -- he kind of said, hey, any advice? And I'm like, well, I don't know if I can give you any advice. I went very cliche and very -- but also I tried to basically just say what I said to you all. You're going to be a better player regardless of what happens. Soak it in.

I said, the beauty of what I've experienced here is that I don't have to change my game to play here. I can still play here with what I have. On the grandest of stages, the most trying of stages, you don't have to reinvent the wheel.