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TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

June 21, 2017

Cromwell, Connecticut

THE MODERATOR: As you see, we have a little announcement to make today. Probably not a big surprise at this point. But we had this set-up a week ago and then Justin went and ruined things and shot an historic round at the U.S. Open, so I know you guys all need stuff from him. We're going to do the announcement because we only have this blocked off for a short time, and then Justin will stay out here and take questions about the U.S. Open and the Travelers this week.

So without further adieu, I'd like to introduce Mr. Joe Magnacca from Massage Envy, and he's got a great announcement to make for us.

JOE MAGNACCA: Thank you, Mark. I want to thank all of you for being here. I also want to thank the PGA TOUR and Travelers for such a great event. We're really excited to be here with you. It's great to see so much interest and excitement today. We know you came here to see the Massage Envy relationship, but it sure doesn't hurt that Justin shot a 63 and created a little further demand for us. So we're really excited that he's assisted us in getting you all here today.

Also with us today is Jamie Lovemark and Andy Levinson. He'll speak. Andy is with the PGA TOUR as well, and we're excited to be partnering with him and the rest of the PGA TOUR associates.

We're honored today to announce a multi-year partnership with Massage Envy as the official sponsor of the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. We're also the official Total Body Care partner of the PGA TOUR's player performance centers, the TOUR's mobile training and wellness trailers.

The players at tournaments on the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions can use the player performance center as a destination at most TOUR stops.

Let's take a minute and talk about why this partnership came about, and why it's such a great fit. We all know the game has changed so much. Today the players truly take pride in caring for their body as a way to improve performance and longevity. And data tells us that fans of the PGA TOUR are also interested in and engage in these types of services we provide.

Golf is perhaps the only sport where anyone can play the same course with the same equipment, and literally walk the same path as the professionals they follow. Now, they can take care of their bodies the same way that TOUR players do, so they can do more of what they love to do. This is truly a special partnership for both of our brands, as it marks our first major sports partnership, and it's the PGA's first TOUR agreement with a wellness brand in massage and skin care category.

The PGA TOUR and its player performance center are a natural fit for our business, providing Total Body Care services. And we are proud to partner to bring new, total body strength services to the player performance center at the same time we are launching, in our nearly 1200 franchise locations across the country, this professionally assisted stretching service will help players get ready and recover.

Our stretching protocol is based on proprietary Streto Method. It's a series of ten assisted stretches developed by a chiropractor, massage therapist, and ergonomist exclusively for Massage Envy. It's a great way to improve flexibility, mobility, and performance for the weekend golfer as well as the TOUR player. Assisted stretch is poised to be the next growth opportunity in the wellness industry, and Massage Envy is out in front of the trend as the only national offering.

So, we're initially focused on bringing performance therapy to players at the player performance center through the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions schedule. But in addition, we'll be working with a team of players to bring their personal stories to life, folks using on the role of conditioning, massage therapy, and stretching play in their wellness routines.

Today, I'd like to introduce you to our team members, Justin Thomas, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Cantlay, Bud Cauley, Tony Finau, Smylie Kaufman, Patrick Rodgers, Brandt Snedeker, and Jonas Blixt and Jamie Lovemark. These guys know firsthand what assisted stretching can do, and we're really happy to have them on our team.

I'd like to bring up two off our player partners, and you know these guys. I'm going to bring up Justin Thomas followed by Jamie Lovemark.

Q. Talk me through the partnership and what it means to the players to have them out here and what it means to your game?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It's going to be a tremendous partnership, it really is. And I know Jamie, myself and all the other players are very excited about it just because it's such an integral part in what we do in our sport of being healthy and making sure everything is moving properly, injury-free. It's a long season that we play, so to make sure that everything is moving how we need it to and to be playing the long season without having to take any breaks for injuries is very important for all of us, I'd say.

JAMIE LOVEMARK: Yeah, definitely. Golf takes a toll on your body. People might think it's easy, but walking ten miles a day for five days for 30 weeks a year is tough. So I've been injured in the past. I've had back surgery, so I know how important it is to stay healthy, stay flexible, maintain my body throughout the long year, and it seems like every year that goes on, the schedule gets longer and longer.

So we're very excited to have the partnership with Massage Envy. I'm sure it's going to help everyone tremendously, and we're very excited.

THE MODERATOR: Andy Levinson from the TOUR who oversees the trucks and physio program, he'll make a couple closing comments.

ANDY LEVINSON: Thanks, Mark. On behalf of the TOUR, I'd like to thank Joe and the Massage Envy team. We're really excited about this partnership. The player performance centers have been a part of the PGA TOUR since 1985, and have really evolved into what you're going to see here today.

The services on this particular facility are an ideal match for Massage Envy. Therapeutic, and injury prevention services that will now be able to integrate some of the great services that Massage Envy provides, specifically their new, assisted stretching program, the Streto Method.

So, again, we're very, very pleased to have Massage Envy as a partner of this program and look forward to working with them in every market that we visit. So, thanks very much, and going forward, I think we'll have the opportunity for some of you to go in the trailers and see exactly what goes on inside. Thanks for being here.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

Q. Justin, start off just talking about your thoughts coming into this week, and especially coming off of last week at the U.S. Open.
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I'm very excited about this week. I've always loved this tournament. This is my fourth time I've played and I was very fortunate to get an exemption when I was an amateur. So knowing the guys here at Travelers and knowing the golf course makes the week even better for me.

I think my game feels good. Last week was obviously a good week. It didn't finish how I would have liked it to, but learned a lot from it. I felt like I played well enough to have a chance to win, and I had a great chance going on Sunday. I just didn't hit the shots and get the start that I needed to. But I'm very excited coming into this week, and I feel confident about my game.

Q. (Inaudible)?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I hit it a lot farther for sure. There are some holes where I'm able to take advantage of my length a little bit more. I hit it decently far then, but probably with my irons I'm a good club, club-and-a-half longer. Whereas a hole like 16, coming in that back right pin with the 6-iron or whatever it was when I was an amateur versus now maybe hitting an 8 or a little 7 is a huge, huge difference. So I would say that's the biggest difference.

I would like to hope I'm a little bit more mature and a better player now.

Q. (Inaudible)?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Than 62 last year? Yeah, it's a fun course, because I mean it sounds crazy, but I feel like every time you tee it up you have a chance to shoot in the 50s. That's fun. You're going to get some days where it's windy, and that's going to make it more difficult, and obviously scoring won't be as low those days. But if you get your putter rolling and you're driving it well, you're going to have so many wedges and so many short clubs in your hands where you can make a lot a lot of birdies and you can really post a low number. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some low numbers every day.

Q. (Inaudible)?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It's awesome. It's a laid-back week. It's easy. The food is great. That's a very underrated thing about it. I forgot about that today, and how eating and how great the food is and the service and stuff like that. That's little stuff that doesn't go unnoticed for us, at least it doesn't for me. I know, I remember talking to Jordan and Michael about this event, and I knew they'd love it.

It's a great course for them. I think once someone experiences this event once, then they realize how great of an event it is.

Q. (Inaudible)?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I don't think it had any influence on it. Their schedule is their schedule. Everybody is playing to have their game as ready as possible for the majors and to feel like they're going to be able to perform at their best and play their best golf. So I don't think anybody's going to come play here because I was.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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