	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

THE HONDA CLASSIC

February 21, 2017

Thomas Pieters

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

NICK PARKER: I'd like to welcome Thomas Pieters into the media center here at The Honda Classic this week. Coming off a great week last week, T-2, overall thoughts on last week and what it's like to be here this week.

THOMAS PIETERS: I was just really excited to get some sleep last night. It was a really long week. I was not feeling that good, and to get the tied second was kind of a bonus last week, yeah.

Q. Can you just tell us how your success last week might change the way you're looking at the entire year and scheduling?
THOMAS PIETERS: I don't think my scheduling is going to change a lot. It just means that next year, you know, if I do get my card, I can kind of pick and choose my tournaments early in the year and maybe just after Race to Dubai.

My focus this year and next year, obviously with The Ryder Cup year, is in Europe. I'd love to combine them both in the future, and we'll see what happens. It's still, you know, it's only February.

Q. Do you have an idea what your schedule is from here? I know you're playing this week and Match Play. After Match Play?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, next week, then Bay Hill, and then Match Play, Masters, and probably going to come back for THE PLAYERS and maybe Memorial. I'm not sure yet.

Q. How much on The European Tour?
THOMAS PIETERS: The first one would be the PGA at Wentworth. I just love playing in Europe. Even going to the Swedish Open or KLM Open, I love the atmosphere and seeing different cultures and cities.

Q. Is there any concern you're playing too much golf?
THOMAS PIETERS: No. We tried to limit it to keep it under 30, 25-ish. That's when I think I'm at my best. I don't need to play a lot of tournaments to get going.

Q. Have you spent much time out on this course?
THOMAS PIETERS: I played the Big Ten Match Play here my freshman year and I never got to 18 or 17, I remember. I haven't played those holes. They look pretty tough.

I don't remember a lot of it, but I know it's a realty tough course. I've watched it on TV plenty of times. It always looks very windy, and the scores are not that low, if I remember. So should suit me.

Q. You've got a really busy schedule. What in particular made you want to be here this week?
THOMAS PIETERS: Well, I got an invite two weeks -- yeah, two weeks ago, they told me. So I really wanted to make this three-week stretch happen. I was going to come here to practice anyway if I wasn't in the event.

It's nice stretches when I can go away for three weeks and come back home, and then it's always nice to play three weeks in a row. If you're in good form, you can keep it going into the next week and hopefully I can do that this week.

Q. What have you heard about this tournament from others?
THOMAS PIETERS: Not much. (Laughter) I don't know. I haven't really talked -- I had my girlfriend there last week, so I didn't really talk to anybody.

Q. There were some stories earlier in the year just about how comfortable you actually are in the United States versus Europe. Can you just tell us kind of what your comfort levels are and just how you see your future? Would you ever be a full-time PGA TOUR player only?
THOMAS PIETERS: I'm going to say no right now. But it might change in the future. Just because I'm really close to my family, and I love living at home and you know, I'm a new uncle now, which is really exciting.

Yeah, even when I go away for three weeks, I do miss my family. That's why I'm going to keep playing in Europe and for The Ryder Cup, as well. I told Thomas BjÃ¶rn that I'm not going to leave his tour and I'm dedicated to playing in Europe and being in that Ryder Cup Team.

Q. This tournament has a strong history of a lot of European players. How attractive is that to you? Are you finding a lot of Europeans here, and how attractive is that to you?
THOMAS PIETERS: It must be the weather and the toughness of the course maybe. We play a lot of tournaments where you might win with a couple under par or nine or ten, and we very rarely are at tournaments where you have to shoot 25-under par and I feel like that happens more over here.

I'm not saying it's easier over here or anything. I think the courses are set up a lot different but we play maybe in a lot of worse weather than these guys do. And maybe we're just used to a lot of wind and tough conditions I think.

Q. What do you take away from not only The Ryder Cup, and what you did last week; what happens to you the Monday after you perform so well on a big stage?
THOMAS PIETERS: I slept yesterday, on that Monday. I take Mondays off, so I don't really do a lot.

But I take, even I wasn't feeling too good last week and I felt like my game two weeks ago was getting in shape and I didn't -- I put my clubs away for six weeks over the winter, just because I needed it after The Ryder Cup. I was really, really flat after. I just put all my energy into it.

Yeah, it was really a poor end to the season but I felt that was just because of The Ryder Cup. So yeah, I started out really nicely in Dubai, and made a lot of double-bogeys but made a lot of birdies, as well. So that was a good sign for me. I kept the bogeys off the card last week, and so that was nice to see a lot of progress in the game.

Q. What did you have, a little virus or something?
THOMAS PIETERS: Yeah, I had a flu. Like ear infection and throat. So don't want to shake my hand (laughter).

Q. Are you 100 percent now?
THOMAS PIETERS: No, I feel like I'm at 60 now.

NICK PARKER: Thank you very much for coming in. Best of luck this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297