WM PHOENIX OPEN

February 9, 2024

Justin Thomas

TPC Scottsdale

Quick Quotes

Q. J.T., solid play for two rounds. How would you assess what you've done well?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I feel like I've gotten it around well. I don't feel like I was very sharp today. I drove the ball nicely, or this afternoon drove the ball well and made some putts, which is nice. I felt like I missed a lot of opportunities this morning. Didn't feel great over it. Tried to make do with the 25 minutes or whatever between rounds to get a little something.

But yeah, my wedges I felt like were pretty bad to be honest, and just I had a couple nice -- made a couple nice putts when I needed to, had a couple good saves. Yeah, it helps getting a nice tee time, as well, this week.

Q. Did you hit any balls or putts during the break or was it just grab a bite to eat and go?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I hit like three 6-irons and one or two drivers. I hit more putts than anything, because like I said, that's what I felt like held me back this morning.

Actually I used a different -- a very similar style but a different putter the first round and then switched in between rounds.

But it was more of a setup thing than anything. I think my hands were getting a little behind it and Bones mentioned something and it was something my dad saw earlier in the week, too, so just put a little bit more of an emphasis on that and really just tried to get good speed and made some nice ones.

Q. It was a conversation with Bones? He just mentioned it to you in between rounds?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I think he could see that I was struggling, and I just didn't feel good over it. Yeah, I've struggled, which is a first in my career, like the last season of pulling putts. It's something I've never done. I've always been a pusher, if anything. So kind of adjusting to that is a little tougher.

But I got in a good rhythm with it in Palm Springs and it was kind of hard to tell anything at Pebble last week with how bumpy they were, and I think honestly how bumpy the greens were messed with me a little bit last week mentally and my confidence. Really tried to see a lot go in these Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, but just wasn't quite comfortable enough in my hands.

I felt like it was a nice adjustment of hitting putts solid and getting the speed correct.

Q. This tournament tries to do everything to finish to lead into the Super Bowl. You guys could possibly still be on the course as the Super Bowl is going on. As a sports fan, is that kind of a bummer for you?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Hell yeah. Yeah. But I'd much rather finish Sunday than Monday, so I will take missing the first quarter and a half or two quarters if that means we don't have to finish on Monday.

It's been a bummer, this weather on the West Coast this year. It's obviously nothing we can do. But it takes some of the fire out of the courses. Like this week, I clearly got pretty lucky with my tee time with the waves, but it is what it is. But yes, I very much hope that I somehow can watch the Super Bowl, but I also hope I'm holding a trophy. If both of those can happen, that's what I choose.

Q. What's the mentality tomorrow given you said you haven't had your best but you're still right there? Coming out, do you try to switch back on or is there a confidence shift?

JUSTIN THOMAS: I think tomorrow is going to be a great -- I don't know what the weather is like now or at least what it says for tomorrow, but I'm going to use tomorrow -- I'm going to get some work in. I have plenty of time. I'm going to, first off, get some sleep, get some rest.

I just need to sharpen up my wedges and my short irons. I just let entirely too many birdie opportunities go I felt like this afternoon, and it's just hard because usually it is very -- it's warm here and you can kind of -- you know the ball goes further, but when it's this cold in the 40s it's hard to sometimes trust that altitude and play it, at least to me. That's something that maybe just 30, 45 minutes on the range of hitting some wedges on TrackMan and just getting some numbers and some confidence to where I feel like I can think a little less when I'm out on the course.

Q. I saw you going back and forth between clubs this morning; was that one of those situations where you're --

JUSTIN THOMAS: No, I just chunked the crap out of it, to be perfectly honest. It was a perfect 9-iron, and it's just when it's that early it's hard to get like a full out of something when it's that early and cold. I literally just laid the sod over a 9-iron.

Q. When you make an adjustment with your putting, are you thinking of something to remind yourself of what you need to do over the ball, or is it more just a feel thing?

JUSTIN THOMAS: It's a little bit of both. I tried to kind of adjust during the round, during my first round. I felt like on 16, I was the first real putt of the day where I just kind of trusted my instincts and I really just tried to dial in my speed. I felt like I was getting a little too mechanical and trying to force the issue. I didn't even feel good -- I felt like I didn't look good over it, like I was trying too hard, so I really just tried to kind of almost relax, and I hit good putts on 16 and 18 and that helped, and then once I kind of -- I feel like at address I just put my hands a little bit forward at address versus letting them get behind and then tried to think more of the same.

Q. So it's kind of a setup thing at the end of the day?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, just a little bit of that and trust.

Q. And the crowd kind of was pumping you up after that putt on 16. Does that help, just a little confidence boost?

JUSTIN THOMAS: For sure. The crowds -- yeah. I saw people, groups of people at 5:00, 5:15 this morning walking in just hands full of booze. I just can't fathom how those people are feeling right now, but if they're still standing, power to them, and very happy that they were out cheering us on. It's a rowdy crowd. It's a passionate crowd. That's what makes this event special.

Q. What was your first putter and then your second putter? What were the models?

JUSTIN THOMAS: The putter I went back to the second round is my gamer, the one I've used for a long time and had a lot of success with. The one that I used this morning was just the new model of it. I had no intention of using it, but honestly my putter felt so bad the first couple days this week after Pebble last week that I just -- I was putting with it, and it felt good. My speed was good with it. I was starting it on line. I wept with it. I felt like I had a lot better chance of making putts with that than the other one.

I have full faith I would have putted the same with the other putter, but there's something about using something you're comfortable with.

Q. So the putter from the first round, that was your first round with that putter?

JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah. Hell of a start, wasn't it?