LIV GOLF JEDDAH

October 13, 2023

Dustin Johnson

4 Aces GC

Royal Greens Golf & Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone. We're joined by Dustin Johnson, captain of 4 Aces GC. DJ, 4-under today, currently tied second after round 1 in Jeddah. Talk us through your round and the conditions out there today.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, obviously played really nicely. The conditions, the wind is blowing good, so it played pretty tough. Kind of kept it in play and hit a lot of really nice iron shots, gave myself a lot of looks. Just didn't really make any mistakes. The one bogey made on the par-5, my second hole, I just had a mud ball in the rough and it went way right and then just didn't get up-and-down.

But yeah, other than that, it was really solid all day long. Felt like I was always giving myself good looks, and yeah, really pleased with the round.

Q. You've won at Royal Greens before; does it bring back some good memories when you come back to a course where you've played well?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, anytime you've had a lot of success at a golf course, I enjoy coming back and playing here. The course suits my eye. I feel like I play it well. Yeah, I like playing here.

Q. 4 Aces currently tied for first after today and great shape in the team standings heading into Miami next week. Have you got one eye on the team championships?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, obviously we won last year. We're in first again this year going in. We'll see after this week. But if we have a good week here, we'll still be in first starting Miami.

Yeah, obviously you want to play well and kind of everybody firing on all cylinders going into next week because it's a really big week.

Q. A year ago you came here, you already had the season-long championship wrapped up. This week you're fighting for third. Are you taking a different approach this week than last year just mentally maybe?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: No. Obviously I would have liked to have played a little better individually coming into here, but it's golf. You can't play good all the time. But I still try to.

But yeah, I've played okay this year, about where my ranking is about how I've played.

Yeah, still want to have a really good week this week. This is a big event. There's a lot on the line. Yeah, I could sneak into that third spot if I win this week maybe, which would be nice, too.

Yeah, I'm going to go out and try to play as best I can.

Q. Can you talk us through the three-birdie stretch there?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, I bogeyed the par-5, but it wasn't really bad shots. I had a mud ball, so it kind of cost me a shot there, if not two. Then yeah, just hit nice shots. I holed a couple six-footers, maybe two ten-footers, so I was giving myself really good looks, just holed a couple putts.

Q. How much are the conditions different than when you won here?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Pretty similar, other than -- generally the fairways might be a hair firmer, but yeah, the conditions are really similar to when we always play here.

Q. Do you think that a successful week in Miami can then get you back to where you were last year and then kick on from there?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, for sure, but it's a long off-season, so I've got a little work to do. But yeah, we'll finish off the next two weeks, I'll take a nice little break, and then I'll get ready for next year.

Q. Any other changes in the team after last year?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Not that I know of.

Q. Talk about your performance today; was the weather a big factor?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, it's quite warm out there. But it was warm last year when we played. I just feel like it's a little more humid this year. But luckily the breeze is up, so it didn't get too, too hot out there. It helps to be in good shape.