LIV GOLF INVITATIONAL SERIES: BANGKOK

October 6, 2022

Dustin Johnson

Stonehill Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. I thought we'd throw at you the World Ranking news that came out last night. What do you make of that and also sort of the way they've gone about trying to get them?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, for me, I think we deserve them. I think obviously with the quality of players we have out here, the events we're having, we should have them.

I think it's fair. Obviously the way -- I think it's very smart and strategic the way they're going about it, but hopefully they make the right decision and give us World Ranking points.

Q. There's been a bit of talk from the players about trying to get the past five events, also the points reinstated on that. Is there any update on that?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I don't see that happening. Obviously, yeah, that would be nice. Obviously none of us are playing events where you get points so we kind of keep slowly moving down, where if the World Ranking points are supposed to be non-biased for golfers, we should. I don't see that happening, though, which is okay, but at least going forward, hopefully we'll have them, because like I said, it's supposed to be a fair and non-biased organization that is for golf, which is exactly what we're doing.

Hopefully, like I said, they'll make the right decision and give us World Ranking points.

Q. A lot of people have been describing this course as pure. How would you rate it? I'd be scared to take a divot.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: It is really nice. It's one of the nicest conditioned courses I've played on. It's a really good golf course. It's long. I think the greens are challenging.

I think it's a good test of golf, and obviously depending on the wind, especially if we get a bit of wind, it'll play difficult.

But yeah, the conditions are unbelievable.

Q. And the conditions and the weather, I suppose, would that be a little bit of concern about the stamina for the players and the hydration this week? It's pretty steamy out there.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it is warm. I live in South Florida, so I'm kind of used to it. It's not quite this humid there, but I don't mind the heat, and the ball goes further, so it's nice.

Q. Since Cam arrived, you've won one and he's won one. I realize there's 48 players in the field, but can you envision some type of mini rivalry with you and Cam, kind of like what they had in Formula 1 the last few years?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I'd love to battle it out every week with him on Sunday. It would be fantastic. That means I'm playing really well. But yeah, you're right, there's a lot of really good players.

But I feel like same with the Tour. If I'm playing well, I'm going to compete every week.

My game has been in pretty good form the last couple months, and it felt like it's still in good form. But yeah, obviously Cam is playing great and he's a really good player. Any of the good players, if they're playing well, they're going to be at the top competing on Sunday.

Q. In London as a team you guys lost by 18 strokes, and that was obviously a catalyst for change. When you look back at it now, was that maybe a good thing for the entire season, the way it's turned out?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, that was the first week, my first event out here. Other than a couple teams who had guys, too, and then the draft party -- even guys that had three guys on their team, they still got to pick in the first round. I didn't like that too much because I had to pick three people.

The first week was a little -- it was just different. After that week, that was when I started recruiting players to be on my team, because yeah, you're right, I didn't like it, and I wanted to compete and have a chance to win the event.

But yeah, it was still good. I thought London was great, and it was a really good start, but too, it was the first week. I didn't really know what was going on either too much, but after that I figured it out really quick.

Q. What's your impression of Thailand and also towards the Thai players on the Tour?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: The Thai player I don't really know. Obviously he's a good player, but I haven't played with him. I'm playing with him tomorrow so I'll get to see obviously firsthand, but I haven't played with him. He's good, I get that, but I don't know anything about his game. I can't really comment on that.

Thailand, I really enjoy being in Thailand. This is my second time. First time to Bangkok, but I did a vacation in Phuket eight or nine years ago. I really enjoyed that. That was a lot of fun.

Yeah, the people are really nice, the food is good, and I've enjoyed it.

Q. You're one of the early players who joined LIV Golf since the very beginning in London. Your own impression of how it's progressed, and is there anything you would like to see improve or perhaps expand upon as the years go by?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, I think you could ask anybody. I think for me, it's gone really well. It's gone better than even I expected it to. I think it's just going to keep getting better and keep getting more recognition around the world.

I think we're already starting to a lot. I think the media and everybody is starting to finally catch on that this is not a joke, it's real golf, and we've got some of the best players in the world. Obviously we don't have all of them, but we've got enough of them.

I think it's gone great. I really enjoy it. I love being out here. I love playing. I love being a part of it and starting something new. I think the team aspect brings a whole different kind of flavor to golf, and it's something that people and fans can get behind, and obviously we're going to play in all different parts of the world.

I've never played golf in Thailand. I've never played a tournament here, so it's a new place. Some people have seen us on TV but they've never seen us play in person. Going to different places and all that which we'll have the opportunity to do on the LIV Tour is going to help grow the game, and I think they're doing a good job with that so far.

Q. The individual race and the team race is heating up, so you could secure the individual championship by winning this event this week. You would be a total lock to win. Same with the Four Aces; I don't know that anybody can dethrone you guys. Are you going into the tournament this week thinking about winning so you can lock that individual championship, or in the Four Aces do you guys have a strategy?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, the team, we're good. We're going to be in the -- I think we'll be a No. 1 seed going into Miami.

For me, though, individually, yes, I would definitely like to lock that up going into next week even though next week is another golf course that I've played very well on and liked the course and had success there.

But still, it would be nice to get the individual title before we go to next week. So yeah, something I definitely would like to secure.

Q. There's a lot of talk out here about the team play and team this, team that. What are you guys doing, you, Pat, Taylor and Pat Perez, to build a team? Are you guys going out at night together? Are you going to dinners? What's going on?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I mean, obviously we all know each other, and then we've played the last four events, I think, together. Yeah, we're not doing anything we normally don't do. Maybe play more practice rounds together. That's about it. But I'm buddies with all the guys, and I think we've got a pretty good camaraderie with the team, and they all want to win just as much as I do. I think that's the difference, and we've been playing well. It's real simple with golf. Whoever shoots the low score wins, so that's what we've done.

Q. This is a question about World Ranking points. Even with the players being able to earn points on different tours, are you still hopeful that LIV will be able to earn World Ranking points eventually?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I think so. I don't see how they don't award us points. Like I said, I think it's supposed to be a non-biased organization, so we are playing golf, competing with some of the best golfers in the world, so yes, we should be awarded points.

Will they do that? Hopefully. Like I said, I think we deserve them, and hopefully we'll get them.