SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 8, 2021

Justin Thomas

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Quick Quotes

Q. How would you assess your play today?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I played really well. The score didn't show. I mean, it was clearly easier today, not as much wind, some gettable pins, but I truly don't think I've ever had a round where I've putted it so well and nothing has gone in. I mean, I holed nothing for how well I was hitting my putts and the speed I wanted to hit them, they just weren't going in, so that was a little frustrating. But at the same time I was staying positive because I kept giving myself chances. But good thing is it was Friday and not Sunday and I've got two days to figure it out.

Q. It's a pretty bunched leaderboard there. A lot of guys with a chance, but you fancy yourself obviously you've had some success here. When it's close like that you seem to sort of bring your best stuff out.

JUSTIN THOMAS: I hope so. It definitely, it's a place that can get bunched up especially when you don't have much wind like this. I think if we get a 20, 25 mile an hour day like you can easily get here I think you'll see it kind of thin out a little bit, because you could still shoot 6-, 7-under, but you're going to see a lot more 1- and 2-unders.

But no, I just have to keep doing what I'm doing. I can't worry putt what the rest of the guys are doing and just try to -- I hit a couple loose drives, but they weren't bad enough, other than the one on 13, to get me in any trouble and really just get a couple of those putts to fall.

Q. I was going to ask you about the drives because that seemed to be the only thing that sort of half rattled you at any stage and it looked like you had to tighten something up, is that right?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, sometimes it will get a little loose and I've asked a bunch in the past, I've done, I remember first time I asked was like 2017 about tightening it during the round and obviously you can't change it, but you can tighten it, so I just want to make sure it was tight because it can get loose sometimes. I think sometimes in the heat it can get a little wiggly. But no, I clearly, I wasn't changing anything, that's for sure.

Q. Can you talk us through your strategy on 14? Laid up both days there. Is there a reason behind it?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I just know that -- I mean, I'm going to have a good birdie look. I mean, another thing, if I was driving it better, I probably would have hit driver today. I think that's a good pin to hit it because you can get it up in the bunker or the right bunker and it was also a wind that you could get to the green. But a day where you can't get it to the green, I just don't see the point. You're not most likely going to make 2 and I'm never going to make worse than 5 from the middle of the fairway. So that's, I feel like we played the hole a lot better since I've laid up and I feel like with my wedge game if I can get it anywhere in that 70- to 90-yard range, with as funnely as that green is, I'm going to have a good chance inside 10 feet.

Q. You said you had to ask that question before in 2017 and stuff but now you --

JUSTIN THOMAS: In 2017, yeah, I asked and, just because I wanted to a couple drives ago, you can kind of hear a click, like, if you go down and get a tee it sometimes it will do it. So I just wanted to make sure I could tighten it in the middle of the round and the rules official told me yes, and so that's why I asked.

Q. You look at the leaderboard, do you feel like there's a possibility of a shootout this weekend.

JUSTIN THOMAS: It's definitely looking that way, but you just don't know what the conditions and the course is going to give us and what really everybody's going to do. I mean, this is a place where someone can go shoot 20-under on the weekend, not necessarily going to happen, but someone could run away or it could be a six- to 10-person field, so -- or tournament, so who knows.

Q. Aloha Friday, talk us through just supporting the Aloha Friday today?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, it's great. It's always, I love any chance to be able to wear a floral pattern and, yeah, there's not much better place to do it than in Hawaii. And on Friday here I see a lot of people doing it, it's pretty normal around these parts for a lot of people that live here, but glad for us to be able to do it for a good cause and raise some money.