LIV GOLF TULSA

May 12, 2023

Dustin Johnson

Talor Gooch

Cedar Ridge Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Talor Gooch from RangeGoats GC and Dustin Johnson, the captain of 4 Aces GC. Welcome, guys. Talor, how did it feel to be in your hometown playing with all your fans today?

TALOR GOOCH: It was awesome. I had some more nerves early than I expected, but it was a blast out there. We were talking about it all day. The fans were great, the crowd was awesome, the energy was great. The pressure I put on my state the last couple of tournaments when I've kind of called them out, they came through for us today.

THE MODERATOR: DJ, you played 7-under, played the back nine really well. Tell us about your day and why the back nine played so much better for you.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, I had a really good warmup and got off to a decent start, and through the middle of the round got a little squirrelly, just wasn't driving it too well, hit a really bad tee shot on 6 or 7, one of those holes.

No, swinging well, and then just on the back nine drove it better and hit it close. I made a couple putts.

Q. DJ, your round pretty much had a lot of things in it. You had a lot of rulings. You had a few errant shots but were able to get the most out of a round you seemed like.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, like I said, I know I'm swinging well. Didn't drive it well even though I've been driving it really good lately, just obviously drove it better after about 12, No. 12, or 13. Hit some really good drives coming down the stretch. But yeah, I was just kind of managing my game through those holes.

When I did hit the fairway, I felt like I made birdies, and yeah, so obviously just with the fringes the way they are, that's why I had a couple rulings.

Other than that, it was a really solid day other than just driving. I got off to a bad start with the driver. But drove it well coming home.

Q. Did you guys see a 61 out there today?

TALOR GOOCH: I definitely didn't, the way I was playing. It's always tough when you're not playing great to see a low score like that. DJ played great -- what did you shoot, 63?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: 63.

TALOR GOOCH: That was pretty dang good. So 61, if you really got it going just with how the winds weren't heavy out there, the greens were receptive -- dudes are good out here, so it can happen when you have these type of scoring conditions.

Q. I know the LIV Tour has built a lot of momentum with Australia and overseas and they thought the ticket sales were going to be good for this. How was the turnout for LIV Tulsa compared to some other American events you've had?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I think the crowds were great today. A lot of fans out there. There was a lot of support. Yeah, I think the crowds were really good.

TALOR GOOCH: Yeah, same. I was talking with AJ, and for the American events so far, Miami last year might have been the only one that felt like it was bigger than today from a crowd perspective, so it was really solid. I was happy that Oklahoma turned out today.