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Thursday 14 March 2019 13:42, UK
Dustin Johnson believes The Players Championship should become golf's official fifth major.
The winner at TPC Sawgrass this week will take home $2.25m, the highest-ever winner's cheque in professional tournament golf, and Johnson says the event, which has been moved back to March for the first time since 2006, is already a major championship in many players' minds.
"I think it would fit," he said. "I mean this is our biggest tournament.
"It's got one of the best fields of all the tournaments and, yeah, I think all the players look at it as a major."
World No 1 Johnson is preparing for his 11th appearance at the Players - a tournament where he has never managed to finish in the top 10 - and he admits he struggled both on the greens and with the course setup when the tournament was held in May.
"I felt like a few times I played well around here, it's just I couldn't ever get anything going. I feel like it was hard to read the greens.
"I don't know, I struggle with everything. Just judging the distance, balls going miles and would never stop in the fairways. I feel like good shots weren't always rewarded, just with the way the course was playing.
"This year it's softer, it's longer, the rough's a little bit deeper but it's still playable. You still need to drive it in the fairway, but I think it's in perfect condition and it definitely sets up better for me like this.
"There are a lot of different lines off the tee and then clubs into the greens are definitely a lot longer, but the greens are receptive and you can hit longer clubs in, and still, if you hit a good shot it's going to end up close to the hole."
