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THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 12, 2020

Justin Thomas

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Q. Before questions, get some comments on your round today.
JUSTIN THOMAS: I feel like I don't real really need to say that, everyone else wants to talk about other stuff, so it doesn't really matter. I shot 1-under, it's not that great.

Q. How aware of what's going to happen starting tomorrow were you as you were going through playing the round today?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I found out on 18 fairway our 9th hole. So after that I didn't know that it was up until the Masters, but I knew that there would be no spectators the rest of the week.

Q. How do you think that's going to impact how your experience is?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I mean it's definitely going to be different and it's not going to be as fun, but I mean I don't think there would be a person here that would say that - it's still going to be enjoyable if you're playing well, but there's something, it's a lot different when you're coming down the stretch trying to win a tournament with your four family members or whoever it might be there. But at the end of the day this is a lot bigger picture than that, it's about a very, very serious sickness and making sure that everybody's okay. And, I mean, selfishly, I'm glad that we're able to still play, this is a little different situation than other sports where we're outdoors and we don't have the physical contact and we can take it as cautious as we can.

Q. How much do the fans kind of make this event though particularly, especially like 17?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, they make them all, it's not necessarily just this one. There's obviously more people at this event than other ones but all the fans make it great. They cheer you on, they pull for you, some go against you, it's a part of it. I mean I think a lot of us play for ourselves and play to try to accomplish things, but I mean a part of us, a percentage of what we play for is for the fans as well and try to put on a show. That's what they're paying tickets for and coming out to watch. So it's going to be a bummer, but hopefully I just really hope that this clears up for the sake of the entire world than just having spectators at a golf event. But selfishly I hope that it does for that too.

Q. What was the last time you played tournament golf in front of no spectators or even just sparse attendance?
JUSTIN THOMAS: There's been events randomly here or there where, if I'm not playing very well, you tee off at 7 a.m. and you look over and it is my mom and dad and my uncle or something and you're talking with them walking down the fairway because you're in 54th place or whatever it might be. It is what it is. In terms of an actual tournament, I mean probably going back to high school golf or college golf, I mean even small college events still had fans, so it's just it's going to be wild.

Q. Graeme said he half expected to hear the horn, after seeing with all the NBA news. Was there ever a moment where you wondered if they were going to suspend play here or changes might occur?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Like I said, I didn't think they would. I might just be a little biased because I want to play, but I just, I feel like that it's just so different, I mean being outside versus inside and I mean even with them here just having no fan interaction, not touching anybody. And it was tough, it's awkward this week because you want to give high-fives, you want to sign autographs, but you have to be a little selfish at a time like this and you have to be cautious. So how do you be nice without looking like a jerk. And it's not like you're going to say to every single person, hey, I'm sorry, I'm trying to avoid the coronavirus. You just got to go about your life and everyone needs to be cautious. But, yeah, it's -- I didn't expect it, to be honest, but at the end of the day I really have no expectations with what's going to happen.

Q. Were you awake last night with the NBA's announcement or did you wake up to that?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I woke up to that. I was asleep at about 8:30 last night.

Q. What was your reaction when you woke up?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I wasn't surprised. I mean, again, like just -- I've never experienced anything like this. A lot of people haven't, but I don't know what to expect. If we don't play a golf tournament until January, what am I going to do? There's absolutely nothing I can do other than try to stay safe and hopefully my family and my friends and everybody around me are safe, as well. But like I said earlier, I hope not, selfishly, but there's absolutely nothing I can do.

Q. Did today go pretty normal until you found out on 18 fairway?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It felt normal the whole day. There's no difference. The crowds weren't quite as big, but again, it just wasn't -- no high-fiving kids or anything like that, just unfortunately just stay away a little bit.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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