LIV GOLF BEDMINSTER

August 11, 2023

Dustin Johnson

Patrick Reed

Trump National Golf Club

4 Aces GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome two of the 4 Aces. We are joined by Dustin Johnson, the captain of 4 Aces, and Patrick Reed. You guys both shot 3-under today. DJ, tell us a little bit about your round.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it was really good. Just played really solid. Hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. One bad hole there on 11, made double.

Other than that, it was a really nice day.

PATRICK REED: Yeah, just kind of one of those days that I hit the ball decent, and I think the biggest thing is I missed it in the right spots today, and because of that I was able to have easy up-and-downs. When I had a birdie look I took advantage of it and made the putt. It was just kind of a steady day, and I'm glad to not be chasing so far behind after my first round.

Q. You guys are the defending champions here this week. Do you guys think this is a chance at redemption after last week?

PATRICK REED: Yeah, I wouldn't really say as much of a redemption as it is just getting back to playing like who we are. It's safe to say that our team didn't play the way that any of us are really capable of playing last week, and when you get on a golf course like this that is as demanding as this golf course is, I feel like it just kind of brings the best out in us, gets our focus a little bit more into it, and it allows us to go out and play the golf we're supposed to. Hopefully we can do the same thing the next two days and go out and have a chance to win this golf tournament individually for both of us but then at the same time have our team separate ourselves from really the pack and go finish last last week and first this week.

Q. Give us your thoughts on the course this week.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: This course is great. Loved it last year when we played here. I think it's just a really solid golf course tee to green. It's as good as you want for a golf course. It's tough but it's fair. You've got to hit good golf shots. Completely opposite of last week. Complete opposite. I played pretty normal for me at that course. That's why I only played it once when I was on Tour.

Q. Can you just take us through the mood of the team Sunday night? Quite frankly we're not used to seeing where you guys ended up. Were you mad? Were you frustrated? Were you confused?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I was happy because I was going home, to be honest. Obviously we didn't play the way we wanted to, but I don't think anybody was mad or -- he might have been, but that's normal.

But no, I was thrilled just because I was getting to go home for a few days?

Q. Patrick, did you feel shocked at all?

PATRICK REED: Definitely shocked, of course. Our team is way better than finishing last in a golf tournament. But at the same time, you just kind of go to one of those golf courses that doesn't really fit your eye, and it happens not to fit a couple other guys on the team's eye, either, you can just kind of get in one of those funks.

I think that's all it was last week was more of a funk. There was a lot of other stuff going on for me personally with having my birthday week and having a bunch of family and friends there. There was a lot of extra distractions I felt like last week on a golf course that you couldn't have distractions. You have to go out and make a ton of birdies.

There's the reason why DJ only played it once, and just because of me, I always play. I kept on going back, and every time I went back, I love the place, I love Greenbrier, but that golf course, I've never really played that great there. It's just one of those places.

Q. Do you feel like this week could be a statement week, especially because Torque is a lot closer to you guys than a week ago?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, we need to have a good week. Obviously coming in here, it's a really good golf course, tough golf course. I think our team plays better on courses like this.

Yeah, we want to have a good week, and obviously we need to extend our lead a little bit.

Q. Did you have to do any kind of rally cry this week with the team?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. The guys, we all work hard, so we all come in prepared and ready to go. There's no rah-rah speeches or anything. It's just go do what you're supposed to, and we'll be just fine.

Q. DJ, for guys watching at home, what do you like to do in your free time?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I like to spend as much time as I can on the water.

Q. Anything else?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Well, anything to do with the water, I'm good, fishing, diving, chilling, whatever it is, hanging with the kids.

Q. It was quite a scene for the first three holes with the former president following your group. I know he has a relationship with DeChambeau. Do you have any sort of relationship with him that sort of led to him following you guys like that?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I've known President Trump for quite a while. I won Doral when it was there, at Trump. He's in Palm Beach, so we play a good bit of golf together. We've had a nice friendship over the years.

Q. It seemed to me like your stats sort of indicate that you've been right on the verge of getting back into the winner's circle. Do you ever come into an event like this and feel like you're kind of due, especially on a course this difficult?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I've always liked tougher golf courses. It's just, I don't know, always fit my game better than the ones that are -- where 25-under is winning. It's just never really been my forte. Yes, I've got that and won on courses like that, but most of my wins are on tougher golf courses I would say.

Q. Just wanted to ask you about the difference -- when you step up to the first tee at a LIV event with the president here and the music, I want to know your mindset. When you're ready to hit, do you block everything out? Can you explain when you're ready to hit with all those distractions going on?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: To me, there's not any distractions. The only thing that can distract me is myself.

Whether I'm playing LIV, a major, PGA TOUR event, whatever it is, I feel the same on the first tee always just because I want to play well.

Nerves, but it's like good nerves, just because I want to do well. But yeah, I feel the same every time on the first tee.

Q. You know when you step up to the first tee it's going to be busy, so what do you do?

PATRICK REED: Go through your normal routine and step up and try to hit the fairway. To me, it doesn't matter whether it's a LIV event where there's 1,000 people around or one person around and what kind of tournament you're playing. The goal is to go out and hit as many fairways and as many greens as possible and make birdies.

If anything for me I feel like you have to get off to a faster start out at LIV. You only have three rounds, not four, so if you have a soft round, you're playing catch-up and you're too far behind, and you don't have enough holes to catch up. Out here it feels like more of a sprint than anything else.

Q. What is your favorite Trump course you've ever played?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I would have to say Doral.

PATRICK REED: Yeah.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: I just like that one. I've always played well there, so my favorite one is Trump Doral.