SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 5, 2022

Justin Thomas

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Flash Interview

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: It's always great to be back. I think the views behind me speak for itself. It's just a place that I'm very comfortable being. It's a fun golf course. It's just kind of a laid back, feels like relaxed type vibe, but at the same time there's going to be a winner crowned at the end of the week.

JOHN BUSH: Talk about the golf course you saw this morning and your goals for the week.

JUSTIN THOMAS: It's good. It's very soft. It's going to be, depending upon the wind that we get, the scores are probably going to be very low. I would think just one of the lower years. I mean, I think that they fluctuate quite a bit because of the years we have wind and a little firmer and not, and it's definitely soft this year where you're going to be able to get after it some, and my game feels good, so it's just going out and executing.

JOHN BUSH: Talk about being back here in January.

JUSTIN THOMAS: Probably a lot of stuff that people could guess. In terms of specific stuff I'm still not sharing them with anybody, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

JOHN BUSH: Questions.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I didn't put that on there. Maybe I should have. Good golf results in a good PIP score.

Q. I heard it's been rainy out here. I heard it's soft. Are you able to fire at the pins?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, you usually can. It's a course with big fairways, big greens, a pretty good amount of short clubs. I mean, you can get a certain wind direction where you have a little bit longer clubs in.

But for the most part you know what you're getting here and it definitely is softer and a little slower than normal, but it's the same for everybody, so it's not anything crazy.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I would say that there's probably a handful of people or maybe, what, 10 people in the history of the game that can successfully say that they knew how to peak for the majors. I'm far from knowing how to. I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm trying to figure out what works best for me.

Like you said, a lot of it is just it's golf and as good as you feel you could get the wrong draw, you could just not play well that week, you could wake up with a sore neck, like stuff happens. But at the end of the day it's just about more being able to will yourself to getting into contention and finding a way to get it done.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I don't think there's a secret. I just think the biggest thing is that it's different for everybody. What Brooks does in majors is unbelievable, I think. I mean, I played with him in two of the majors last year and I also played with him in a lot of other events and it just was unbelievable the difference, it seems like, the level of his game versus, I hate to call it say a regular event and a major, but it truly was. It just was the mistakes were so minimal, the clutch par saves, the one wayward shot. It's just everything that seemed like kind of went like this (Indicating) in a regular event just got done like this (Indicating) in a major and it was extremely impressive to watch and pretty inspiring, to be honest.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I just had a good week at a good time. I mean, I played the week before, so that's --

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I played well. I just didn't putt very well and it just was a course I -- I had played it before, but never in the Bermuda, so it was kind of a little adjusting, adapting, whatever.

But, yeah, I think it was more of just playing well at a good time.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I think the idea is healthy for the, it's healthy, could be healthy for the TOUR. I think two competing tours is not healthy for golf, if that makes sense.

I think if the idea of other competition and other tours or whatever happening, I think is a good opportunity for the TOUR to kind of maybe sit back and us players sit back to realize what can we do better on our TOUR and then make our product better, versus having two competing tours to me is not good because you're diluting the product on both sides and it's just not, you're not going to get the best -- it's not possible to get the best players in the world on both tours. They're either going to be one or the other or a little bit of both.

So I don't know if that answers your question, but...

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: What's that first? Releases from? For me?

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, probably -- probably was that.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I think there's times when we're definitely more than others, but it's more, for me, it's just more my goal is to win and do as many great things in the history of the game on the PGA TOUR, and there's definitely, I mean, a huge huge career goal of mine is to win both tours, the FedExCup and the Race to Dubai in the same season. That's a huge DP World. I'm sorry. Yeah. Sorry about that.

But that's a huge goal and would be a tremendous accomplishment to me. So it's something that's important, but at the same time we just don't have any time off to do that. I think if we had the opportunity to maybe have some time off in the fall to where we could go play in some of the DP World events to build a little bit of a bankroll on that money List, and then have the majors, WGCs, to where it could be worth your while.

But, I mean, to me obviously what's most important is playing well on the PGA TOUR, but there's definitely a point where I would love to be able to compete on both tours and not feel like I'm gassed.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: I was last year. I don't know if I am this year. I think I am, actually. Yeah, I am. I am. I think I am.

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: That's a good point. I don't know. I mean the DP World Tour, they do a great job of giving Americans like the opportunity of almost kind of maybe backing out of a membership-type thing if it gets to that point at the end of the season if you're not going to be able to fulfill your event minimum or whatever it may be.

But clearly I don't know very much, so I'm not the right person to ask (laughing).

Q. Could you talk a little bit about the Plantation Course, you come here so often, obviously you win to get here, you won here a couple times. Where is this place in your heart? Is this a must be at kind of place for you?

JUSTIN THOMAS: It's, yeah, it's always the first thing that comes to my mind after my first win of the year is that I get to come back to Kapalua. I mean, it's a great, like I said, it's relaxing, it's fun, you obviously still want to win the tournament, play well, but it's just, it just has a very laid-back vibe.

And it's a place that it's all right in front of you, you don't necessarily need to come here that sharp, it's pretty big fairways, big greens, you have a lot of wedges, a lot of birdie opportunities.

Like I said, you obviously want to play well and be as sharp as you can, but at the same time everybody's doing the same thing over the holidays, spending time with their family, friends and probably not doing as much golf. So it's just, when you come here, it's pretty hard to not be in a good mood, you know what I mean?

Q. (No Microphone.)

JUSTIN THOMAS: Less relaxed? It was like just a, like a kind of a hang and not like a full shaka hang. That's what you get for asking a question like that.