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TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 23, 2019

Justin Thomas

Atlanta, Georgia

Q. Justin, talk about today. Did the rain delay have an effect on that second nine, and do you kind of feel like you have a lot of gas left in the tank for the rest of the week?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I would hopefully feel like I have a lot of gas left. I'm only halfway through the event. It would be hard for me to say that it didn't kind of stop my momentum because I was playing really flawlessly, I felt like, that front nine.

I didn't play that poorly on the front nine, just had -- you know, the course was playing a little different after that delay. I hit a great wedge into 13, that, being a little softer, didn't quite skip up there. That putt could have easily gone in on 15. Hit the putt a little softer on 16, I make it. Bad mistake on 17, and I hit a great putt on 18 that didn't go in.

I just -- for as much as I feel like I got out of or scored well on the front nine, just nothing kind of got going on the back nine.

Q. You said earlier in the week it felt a little strange starting at 10 under with the way the scoring was. Did that change from the 1st tee yesterday, or did you feel like you played your way into a normal tournament?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, today felt normal. Yesterday was weird. I told my dad that. It's just so odd looking over and seeing 10 under. I mean, I don't care who you are, I have a hard time believing that anybody is going to play different. I would think everybody is going to play differently when they start the tournament with the lead versus everyone being tied.

I mean, I thought it was going to be easy for me to just play a tournament. It wasn't. At least for me it wasn't. I thought it was difficult to stay aggressive, but then again, I wasn't driving it very well, so I couldn't be aggressive.

I don't know, it was odd, but today definitely felt more normal. It felt like I was just trying to build a lead as opposed to yesterday, it was just kind of a little harder to get it going.

Q. How do you feel about your game being possibly in the final or second-to-last group like now versus normally where you change over 36 holes? Does that make sense?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, it doesn't feel any different if that's what you're asking. I really feel like I'm playing really well still. I hit a couple of poor putts on the front nine that I felt like I could have shot 4 or 5 under on the front nine, and had some good par saves on the back and then kind of let a couple get away.

You know, over the course of 72 holes, that's going to happen. If I can just tighten everything up just a little bit and drive it and play like I did on the front nine, I feel like I have a great chance to win.

Q. Justin, just sum up how you're feeling and your assessment of your play.
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I feel fine. I feel like I have a good chance. I'm in a good spot. It's anybody's golf tournament. You just have to go out and get it at that point.

Q. And with the 90-minute delay, talk about how that can interrupt your rhythm, how it affects your mentality, and your frustration.
JUSTIN THOMAS: It doesn't -- I didn't get frustrated. It didn't affect my mentality. It just affected my rhythm. I was going along really well and playing pretty well. It's not that I didn't play well when I came back. I hit plenty of good shots. I hit more loose shots, and obviously not making any birdies on the back nine, I think speaks for itself.

Q. You hit six fairways on the front. What did you do differently with your drive when you had to do it?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I tried to be a little shorter at the top, not get as long with my back swing. I think, when it gets this hot and you get this loose, it's pretty easy for it to creep back there, at least for me.

But I didn't drive it near as bad as my stats showed yesterday. I hit a lot of really good drives there, kind of like on 18 where I missed the fairway by a foot. That's the difference between me being able to hit a 4 iron and trying to make a 3 and then I'm just trying to get it over the water. So that's a big difference at East Lake.

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