THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 14, 2021

Justin Thomas

TPC Sawgrass

Greenside Interview

Q. With the winner of THE PLAYERS here in 2021, Justin Thomas. We saw the reaction after you made the putt at 17 and then we saw the emotion pouring out after you avoided the water on 18 off the tee. What is it like to try to finish off a PLAYERS Championship with this type of intensity and pressure?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I'll tell you what, it's a lot harder than when there weren't fans here, that's for sure. I'm so happy they're back and I'm so happy to be THE PLAYERS champion. I fought so hard today. I stayed really patient. Probably one of the best round of my life tee to green, total control of the ball, and really was hitting a lot of good putts, just wasn't holing anything and I stayed patient and stayed patient, and I've seen some pretty crazy stuff on TV happen in the past on this back nine, so I was glad to be on the better side of it this year.

Q. You're really close friends with Tiger Woods. You've been in constant contact with him since his car accident. What do you think he saw from you today?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Well, you know, I was replaying what he told me a lot in my head. He likes to give me a lot of grief, especially when he's not here, and I think like calling him, like Bryson said, we're all pulling for him, and I'm so glad to hear everything has been going well with him. But yeah, part of me wishes he was here so I could rub it in his face a little bit more. But no, I'm happy and I hope he's happy, and I always appreciate his help.

Q. In a golf perspective, what has he been telling you?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I mean, just to stay patient. I mean, it's been a lot of stuff, but it's between us, and it's great. He's so nice to myself and Bryson and so many guys out here that if you would have told us when we were 15, 20 years old that Tiger Woods was texting us the night before we have a chance to win the tournament trying to inspire us, that's pretty cool.

Q. Family is an enormous part of your journey in this game. You lost your grandfather who you were very close with a couple of months ago right after we saw you in Scottsdale. How much of a part of him was with you today?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, a lot. Yeah. I wish I could talk to him. I don't know, it's a sign that he was watching.