MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 9, 2025

Davis Thompson

Quick Quotes

Q. Davis, you've been out here the last couple of days getting your shots in. Tell us how preparation for the tournament is going.

DAVIS THOMPSON: It's been good. Played a good practice round yesterday with Scottie, Sam, and Russell. And played the back nine with Austin Eckroat and Riley today. It's been good. It's a pleasure to be here honestly.

Q. As a former Georgia Bulldog, when you get to come to a place like Augusta National, man, what are the emotions like being able to play here?

DAVIS THOMPSON: It's cool here. A lot of Go Dawgs from the crowd. A lot of support. I'm going to have a bunch of friends and family and former teammates come out and watch me. It's definitely cool to have the Georgia connection.

Q. You're not far from home. You played high school at Lee Scott in the Columbus area. We followed your career, man. To go from Lee Scott over in Auburn to Augusta National, man, what's this journey been like?

DAVIS THOMPSON: It's been crazy. I just tried to get better every year. Not really put too much pressure on the future and just try to stay present and try to stick to my process. Like I said, just try to get better every year. Thankfully, I've been able to do that so far.

Played well on the Korn Ferry Tour; got my card. My third year out here made it out here, so I'm doing something right.

Q. What's been the overall impression so far your first time here? A lot of people say they have butterflies, goosebumps walking around. What's it been like?

DAVIS THOMPSON: It's been cool to kind of come up here a few times and play practice rounds before the tournament week. But also it's really cool just coming here to prepare for a golf tournament. It's a different feel.

Everything is kind of moving really fast right now. So just trying to slow things down, enjoy it, soak it in. Then have a good afternoon on The Par-3 and hopefully get going Thursday morning.

Q. You're a Georgia boy; just what kind of -- I'm sure it was a dream of yours to play here, kind of like it was for most golfers. What was it like growing up having this kind of circle of wanting to play here and now playing here?

DAVIS THOMPSON: Yeah, it's a dream come true. It's very cool. I mean, growing up, when I was getting recruited going to play golf at Georgia, I just always wanted to be in this event, always wanted to play in it. I'm doing it tomorrow, so it's a pretty cool feeling.

Q. Davis, do you come into these events thinking of what the winning score is going to be, like what you need to be at at the end to be competing?

DAVIS THOMPSON: Not really, no. Just trying to get off to a good start, settle my nerves a little bit. Just get the round going, take what the round gives me, and then just try to put myself in a good position for the weekend.

Q. A lot has been said about the weather this week. How is the course looking to you?

DAVIS THOMPSON: It's perfect. They don't miss much here. It's a lot of good, and it's in a good spot.

Q. What's been your biggest takeaway so far from your time here?

DAVIS THOMPSON: I think just trying to slow everything down, like I said. You can be out here for hours on end, and I've been given advice to have a plan, go out and do your work, and then go home and rest because it's a long week. Yeah, just trying to stick to that.

Q. What are you looking forward to in the Par-3 contest now?

DAVIS THOMPSON: Just enjoying time with my wife. She's probably pretty nervous. It will be fun. Got a lot of friends and family coming out to watch. It will be fun.

Q. Davis, what's it been like just being around so many greats in the game this week?

DAVIS THOMPSON: It's been really cool. We got up here Sunday, and Harris English and I teed off on the back, and Bernhard Langer and Gary Player were behind us playing. It's little things like that that I never thought I would be doing.

But we're here. Hopefully I get off to a good start tomorrow.

Q. Everything is so pressure packed at the Masters and everything. How do you mentally beat -- you know, take a step back and have fun? At the end of the day, golf is supposed to be a fun game for you.

DAVIS THOMPSON: Yeah, I think that's the goal. You want to play well, but it's a great accomplishment to be here. I'm just trying to -- there's a fine line between competing your tail off and at the same time enjoying what you've accomplished.

I'm just trying to walk that line and probably lean more towards the competitive side. Hopefully we can make some birdies this week.

Q. You mentioned earlier some of the call-outs of Go Dawgs. There's also a lot of calls about betting and people talking about how they placed bets on you and everybody. How do you as a player kind of compartmentalize that and deal with the reality of people screaming out things about how they bet you to make a birdie or bet you to win the tournament or anything like that?

DAVIS THOMPSON: People are free to say whatever they want. I try to block that stuff out. I don't really think about it too much.

Q. Do you hear it?

DAVIS THOMPSON: If it's loud enough, I'll hear it. But I kind of just make a joke with my caddie, and we'll laugh about it and move on.

Q. Scottie is doing so many things right mechanically, strategically, but a lot of players say his attitude is a strong weapon. What kind of attitude does he have? Is there something you'd like to mimic with that attitude throughout the game?

DAVIS THOMPSON: The few rounds I've played with Scottie I feel like every shot's the same. He approaches every shot with the same process and same mentality. I mean, he gets frustrated, just like all of us.

Once he's to the next shot, his goal is to just hit a quality golf shot. He's not thinking about two holes ago or the previous shot.

That's what I've taken away. It sounds so simple, but it's really hard to do.

Q. Is it stuff off the golf course, the way he lives his life, does that benefit him on the course?

DAVIS THOMPSON: For sure. When you have that solid faith foundation, I think that kind of puts things in perspective. I think he really just like -- he just has a very -- I wouldn't say carefree life, but he has his priorities in check is what I would say.

Q. You talked a little bit about your playing partners yesterday. You played with Russell Henley, another Georgia Bulldog. What's the relationship like between you and him?

DAVIS THOMPSON: First time I played with Russell I was probably 12 years old, and I played with him in Macon, Georgia. I've always known Russell. I remember just kind of watching him when he was in college, and then he turned pro and won right away.

Always a guy that I've looked up to. He's had a long career out here. It's really amazing. He's starting to play the best golf of his career now, so it's been really cool to follow him.

He's had some ups and downs throughout his career, but it's really cool to see him. He's top 10 in the world now, so he's playing some good golf.

Q. You've got G-Day coming up on Saturday. How often do you keep up with the Dawgs?

DAVIS THOMPSON: I keep up with Georgia football a lot. Yeah, new quarterback, bunch of new faces. I know Kirby will coach them up and have them ready to go.

Q. If there's one Georgia great, who would you want to play a round with?

DAVIS THOMPSON: Oh, man, that's tough. Growing up, when I really became a Georgia fan, David Greene was the quarterback. Either him or David Polk. Those were kind of the two Georgia greats when I was a young kid. Had their jerseys and all that. So probably those guys.