WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 24, 2023

J.T. Poston

Austin Country Club

Press Conference

Q. Kind of assess your match and moving on to the weekend.

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, played really solid golf today, kind of like the last few days. Pretty much stuck to the game plan of trying not to make too many mistakes. Throw in some birdies and make it as hard as I can on Maverick.

Feel good about the way I'm playing, the way I'm hitting the ball and putting it. Trying to keep it going into tomorrow.

Q. What's been the best part of your game the last three days?

J.T. POSTON: Probably the putter. I've made a lot of good putts, some clutch putts to tie the hole and stay in it, and some good ones down the stretch to build a lead.

I feel like that's kind of the ticket for me in match play and in this format. So just try and do it again the rest of the week.

Q. You've been someone who's known as a good putter. How big is that in match play knowing that that's a strength of yours and you're going to have to make some putts in some tough spots?

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, I think it's great. I think for me, my mentality is I'm never really out of the hole because of that, and I think, if I can just give myself a lot of good looks, I know I'm going to make some birdies. If I do get out of position, if I can just give myself a putt, I'll have a chance at halving the hole.

So I do think that's a great thing that is kind of a weapon and something I always feel like I'm never out of the hole.

Q. The mentality of group play, knowing you're allowed a little wiggle room if you need it going into the weekend, what's the difference there, do you think?

J.T. POSTON: I think every day you're just approaching it one match at a time. It's kind of cliche --

Q. It's very cliche.

J.T. POSTON: I know, but if you take care of business and win your matches like I was able to do do, then you know you'll be good. I'd hate to leave it up to another match that I don't have control over. The mentality, I don't think, is any different. You're just trying to win the match in front of you.

It is some guys will get bailed out where you might lose a match but you win your other two and you might get through in a playoff. You don't get that luxury tomorrow.

Q. Was your form good coming here this week, on Monday and Tuesday?

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, I feel like I played well last week in Tampa. Didn't really putt well down the stretch on Sunday, but finished 10th and really was happy with how I was hitting the ball.

So I knew if I could kind of keep that up and get the putter back where I know it can be, I knew I can play really well here.

Q. Getting to the weekend here, how much of it is skill, and how much of it is good fortune?

J.T. POSTON: I don't think you get there without skill. I think you got to play well. You have to win at least one or -- at least two matches in order to get there. I don't know how the math works out, but I feel like you've got to win at least two of them.

So I think you've got to play well. There's definitely some luck in play and some breaks, yeah, that is definitely part of that. But that's the case in match play, stroke play, and everything in between.

Q. There's a difference between luck and breaks, I think. Luck is for the people that don't have skill.

J.T. POSTON: True. Yeah, that's fair.

Q. Are you going next week at all?

J.T. POSTON: No, I'm not. Taking a week off, and then we'll do Masters, Hilton Head.

Q. Have you taken a scouting trip?

J.T. POSTON: I have. I went and played the week of Torrey Pines a while back, just to kind of see it because I hadn't been in a few years and hadn't seen some of the changes. Obviously 13, and then I think 11 was different since the last time I was there. Same with 15.

I was able to kind of see them, and I'll go up again on Wednesday to see it for a day.

Q. What were your thoughts on 13?

J.T. POSTON: I thought it was significantly further back from what I remembered the old tee being. We had it on kind of a cold day. I don't know if it was the best real test of what it will be like in the tournament.

I feel like it made the fairway wider the day that we played it when it was cold and a little breezy. I was just trying to hit it straight out there, and it was a three-shot hole for me.

Q. It was a three-shot hole?

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, but it was 50 degrees and blowing 15 out of the north. Ball wasn't going very far.

Q. Ball was rolled back by Mother Nature that day?

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, exactly.

Q. I was more curious about 11.

J.T. POSTON: 11, I think you don't really have the bail out short right anymore. Or if you miss it short right, it's not as easy of an up and down the way it's kind of -- but I think they made that change a couple years ago.

Yeah, I feel like if you miss it kind of over there to the right, you've got a pretty fast chip, and on the green it kind of -- it's a little bit lower than the level of the green now. So it makes it tricky.

Q. So the level of the green is a little bit lower?

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, not really a runoff, but just low enough to where it's hard to kind of bump it or putt it through there. But then if you fly it on the green, you've got to really hit a good chip in order to spin it and stop it.

Q. So front left pin, where's your miss?

J.T. POSTON: Deep, in the middle of the green -- I don't know. I'll find out in two weeks.

Q. When was the last time you were there, '19, '20?

J.T. POSTON: Played the 2020 Masters.

Q. Is that your only Masters? I guess you've never played it firm and fast?

J.T. POSTON: No. I'll get the real experience this time around.

Q. Did you do anything back in November, did you do anything worthy of a roar that you didn't hear that week?

J.T. POSTON: I don't think so. I mean, made some birdies, but on some holes you probably would expect making birdies like the par-5s. I don't remember making any like real long putts. I don't really know to be honest.

Q. Even though you're not a newcomer to Augusta, when you do a practice round and you're going to go Wednesday of Torrey Pines and you pick up the phone, who do you call?

J.T. POSTON: Jeff Knox.

Q. Is he kind of your --

J.T. POSTON: Yeah, I've gotten to know Jeff. His son Lee Knox is a really good friend of mine and a good golfer in his own right. I've gotten to know Jeff a little bit over the last maybe six, seven years. He's always been so great to us down in Sea Island, myself included, having us out there when we're in the tournament. Been able to play it a few times.

Q. What would happen with a guy like Taylor Moore? Does he just pick up the phone and call the pro shop and ask for a tee time or what?

J.T. POSTON: That's a great question. I don't know. I've always had the Jeff connection fortunately. So I've always reached out to Lee or Jeff and kind of go from there. But I would imagine being in the tournament he can make a phone call or two and they'll get him in touch with the right people.