LIV GOLF PROMOTIONS

December 9, 2023

Braden Thornberry

Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Quick Quotes

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Braden Thornberry from the USA. 6-under par 66 here at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the second round of LIV Golf Promotions. Take us through your round.

BRADEN THORNBERRY: Yeah, every day I've gotten off to a slow start. I three-putted the second hole. I almost birdied 1, then three-putted 2, so it was kind of a disappointing start, and then kind of was a little flat on the front nine, couldn't get anything going. Then turned to the back and kind of everything clicked. Made four birdies and an eagle on that side.

I guess the final score looks like you're doing good, but I actually had to make a putt on 17 to get to 4-under, which I was thinking at the time would be the number. It's always nice to finish off good and kind of guarantee yourself a spot.

Q. Eagle on the last to finish; talk us through how that feels.

BRADEN THORNBERRY: Yeah, so on the tee I'm thinking, don't do anything stupid, but if I can make a birdie I'm basically guaranteed in. Hit a good tee shot up the left and had 265 and hit it up there to about probably 17 feet or so, and then obviously that one I want to make it, but I'm kind of also making sure I don't run it four feet by or something because I knew 5 was basically guaranteed. But luckily it dripped right in the front edge, and I'll take it.

Q. 36 holes tomorrow, final day of the LIV Golf Promotions. How are you going to approach tomorrow differently than today?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: I mean, not really much, honestly. You've got to just take it one shot at a time. It's going to be a long day. With only 20 guys, I don't really know -- nobody has really done that before with 20 guys for a three-spot-type thing.

I'm just looking forward to getting out there, hopefully get off to a little quicker start, but if not, we have 36 holes to kind of be patient and wait for the putts to start falling and see where we land at the end of the day.

Q. Top 3 position tomorrow and a place on the 2024 LIV Golf roster, what would that mean to you?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: That would be everything. The financial security, just the coolness that it brings to the game of being on teams. I loved it in college, being part of a team, and being able to work out with a team, practice with a team, travel, all that kind of stuff. It would mean a lot to be part of a team again, and I would just really enjoy it.

Q. Braden, I think yesterday you started off a little slow and then you obviously finished really well. Today you had a great finish. Do you feel like certainly the back nine has been very good for you the first two days?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: Yeah, I don't know if the back nine is easier or if I've just started to click over there a little bit more, but it would definitely be nice to get off to a little quicker start and not put all that pressure -- obviously tomorrow is a little different, but on these cut days with the 20, it's nice if you can be turning at 2- or 3-under, which I haven't been able to do.

But you can kind of draw from being able to shoot those low rounds and make birdies at the end when I need it or an eagle when I need it is kind of a good feeling that if I can get off to that quick start, then hopefully I can make it even better.

Q. How much have you followed LIV since its inception?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: Yeah, I've followed it a lot. I've always watched both. I'm a big fan of golf in general and just like watching it. Yeah, I've just enjoyed watching both, and the team aspect is cool to me. It's just something different. I know it takes some time to kind of -- the teams need to settle a little bit with who's what and what their definition of each team is and stuff like that, but I feel like it's coming farther and farther along, and I'm just excited where it's going to be next year.

Q. Speaking of the team element, you talked about back in college, obviously a very successful college career. How much does that appeal to you, that whole team aspect of LIV?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a really cool -- we're one of the only sports where you can have an individual and team, like you're competing for two different reasons. Maybe you're not playing great that week individually, but you might be right on the number as a team for third, second, first, and it's just two different angles I feel like to be competitive, and I love competing, so it just gives another level of competing.

Q. Since that win in 2017, how would you kind of categorize or describe the process of your pro career?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: Yeah, getting out on Korn Ferry basically right away and playing for four years, there was a lot of good stuff, but just never quite was -- in college I feel like I was either winning tournaments or kind of finishing 20th, whereas 20th maybe as a pro is equivalent to making the cut on the number or something like that.

It hasn't quite translated in the sense of winning events and being right up at the top of the leaderboard. Hopefully -- I've been working hard this year. It's kind of been my first chance to try to improve at golf because I've been playing so much -- when you play 25 events and in the off-season you actually want to take some time off, so maybe you're actually really gearing up for a month, whereas this year not having the same status where I was able to actually focus on my game, it was the first time in a while I was able to try to actually improve at golf, which has been nice.

I feel like I'm making strides, so hopefully it's showing on the scorecard and on the course.

Q. Tomorrow you'll be playing 36 holes. Not many players in the field have that advantage of what you have playing college golf, playing 36 holes in several tournaments in a day. What are you going to be drawing upon your college experience playing those 36 holes, and what do you think is really important to do when you're playing 36 holes?

BRADEN THORNBERRY: I think -- I was telling somebody, it's really interesting with 36, the first 18 goes by so fast, so it almost feels like the same kind of thing. You're through 12, it seems like that when you're playing 36 holes. But I think it's really important, obviously all the normal stuff, hydrate the night before, all that kind of stuff, to where you're really just feeling good and you're not having to figure it out out there, you're kind of priming your body to get ready beforehand.

But as far as doing something different, not really. I think sometimes the second 36 I feel like I've played well because I feel like you're warm and you can go to the first tee and kind of like what we said, getting off to slow starts but then kind of heating up, whereas maybe today if we'd played more holes, I could continue that on that second 18.

Not overall a ton different, but just excited for it.