THE RYDER CUP

September 24, 2021

Dustin Johnson

Xander Schauffele

Whistling Straits

Press Conference

Friday Afternoon Fourballs

JOHN DEVER: Welcome back to the 43rd Ryder Cup.

Q. Can you just describe to us how much you both enjoyed your work today?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, obviously playing with Xander, who is a great player, we played a lot together and we've gotten to know each other very well and we had a lot of fun out there, and obviously, too, when you're winning your match, it's a lot more fun.

Conditions were tough. We both ham-and-egged it very well, and we played a really good match.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It was fun. We got all the seasons out there. Even started raining in that post-round interview. It's always a nice thing being on DJ's team when he's free-rolling. I've seen it before playing against him, and it's not as fun. Nice to be on his side when it's happening.

We hung in there at the end. Birdies were winning matches early -- holes early, and pars in the end. So it was a completely different day from start to finish.

Q. There's a great energy outside this tent right now. How early did you feel it, how often and did it ever stop?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, from when we walked on the first tee today and finished this afternoon, the crowds have been amazing, and the fans have been great. They have been pretty respectful, too, for both sides.

Yeah, it's been so much fun. Obviously the fans make this event.

Q. A key stretch were the birdies on 10 to 12. What was the best one in there? And, Xander, what did you think when he was getting the putter hot?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: They were all good. Today with the wind -- and it wasn't -- once you got your shot up around the hole, it was just hard to make the putts just because, you know, you'd have a left-to-right putt, wind is coming off the right and you're playing it outside the right. It's difficult conditions.

But I thought we did a great job of, like I said, ham-and-egging it and I rolled in some nice putts on 11 and 12. But any of the birdies are good.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: Pivotal part of the match. It was a key point. I just sort of took a step back and tried to stay out of his way. That's what you do when Dustin is rolling. And it was big momentum shifts because they were looking to win a couple holes back, but Dustin sort of made that putt prior and ended up putting pressure on their short putts to win. Those are big putts in the middle part of the round.

Q. Your first day on The Ryder Cup, could it have been better?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: No, 2-0 is great and I'm taking it.

Q. Just picking up on the energy of the crowds, and so much fun to play amongst that, what's it like having that support? And when you get superstars out there like Michael Jordan, what's that like?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It's awesome. Dustin spoke to it earlier. It's something we don't get to do any point in the year until now, and we've been -- I think everyone has been waiting years for this to happen. No surprise that the big names are showing up to catch some golf.

DUSTIN JOHNSON: The crowds, they have been amazing this week, all through the practice rounds, and today was incredible. Obviously we have a lot of support on our side, and you know, to see, like you said, MJ is out there, he's a huge supporter of The Ryder Cup and huge supporter of golf, but it's nice to see him come out and support us.

Today was a great day for both me and Xander, and we both won our matches in the morning and this afternoon. Couldn't have been any better.

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It feels nice and feels even better when Dustin is my partner and he's playing well. It was a difficult day with all sorts of conditions, and birdies were good early and pars were good in the end. I think we're happy to finish up here.

Q. This golf course, you have to play it properly. Do you feel like you have to hit all the shots; it really is a true test?

XANDER SCHAUFFELE: It really is, and it's also nice to go around the property with a partner versus just on your own. I had a lot of fun. It was a tough one and happy with the win.

Q. What's it like to be the old man in the group and lead by example as you are?

DUSTIN JOHNSON: Yeah, well, I still don't feel old, but I know I'm the oldest on the team. Obviously Xander is a great player. We've played a lot of golf together. We knew we might play best-ball, and I think we're great partners and obviously we had a really good match we both played really well. And yeah, tough conditions, but we had a lot of fun.