PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 17, 2024

Thomas Detry

Valhalla Golf Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Thomas Detry is with us at the 106th PGA Championship. Can you take us through your eagle there to end your round on a high note?

THOMAS DETRY: Yes. It was probably the perfect wind out there on 18, straight downwind. Didn't really have to worry about the bunker or the water right. Everything was pretty straightforward. Hit a great drive, and we had the perfect yardage. Again, the wind was pretty much straight down.

I hit a straight shot, pushed it a little bit. It probably went four or five paces further right than I wanted to, but perfect yardage and hit a really good putt. Read it well with my caddie. We missed a short one on 17, and I feel like that was a bit of redemption on that hole.

Q. Conditions changing again. Especially I would say short game and putting you have to make a few adjustments. How do you process that?

THOMAS DETRY: Yes, it was much heavier. That's kind of what I said yesterday. The rain I think made the rough much heavier, and it was a little bit -- I tend to have a little bit less spin with the irons when the ball is a bit wet. So a few adjustments. That's what we did on the range this morning, get used to the yardages. Some of the balls actually were flying a little bit further because there's less spin on the ball. I think that varies from players to players. It was great.

I got off to a good start again today. Parred the first, parred the second. Great up-and-down on 3, and then birdied 4, which was nice to get into a good rhythm for today.

Q. A lot of pars today and then you have the big finish. Were you fine with that? Was it a day you could stay patient?

THOMAS DETRY: Yes. I missed a lot of greens today, and I got a lot of up-and-downs. I think through eight holes, I only had 10 putts or 11 putts. I missed a lot of greens in the right spots. I was able to get easy up-and-downs. But it was quite a few missed greens. It was a long morning. I felt a little bit tired there.

It was nice to stay really patient, trust my game, trust my short game, which I've worked hard on, and it really paid off. That eagle on the last was, like I just said, a bit of redemption. I was very happy with it.

Q. What was the club you hit in on the last?

THOMAS DETRY: It was 5-iron, a full 5-iron.

Q. What was your process like getting to the golf course today, and how did you hear about the delay?

THOMAS DETRY: Yeah, so I heard there was an accident this morning. We obviously received an email at 5:30, and I'm very sorry for what happened. We found out later what happened. It was very sad news. Someone picked me up, a driver from the tournament picked me up, and it was obviously a bit messy. There was police everywhere.

But we managed to get safely here into the clubhouse, and obviously there was a bit of delay. I just stayed focused, tried to be patient, and I knew my tee time was at 9:40, so I was kind of in the zone and doing my own thing.

Q. When did you learn about what happened with Scottie?

THOMAS DETRY: To be really honest, like I just said, I was kind of in the zone, so I didn't really have my phone on me. I was just doing my own thing. I overheard a few people here and there saying that Scottie got taken or got detained, but that's about it. I wasn't really aware. I haven't actually looked at my phone since, so I'm not really aware what happened.