Justin Thomas Wednesday Press Conference 2024 Tour Championship

good morning we would like to welcome Justin Thomas to the media center here at the 2024 TOUR Championship Justin if you could just give us some opening comments on your season and making it to East Lake for the eighth time yeah it's always a good um a good year when you're you're ending the year here uh in Atlanta it was uh it was very motivating last year not not being here and um and watching on TV I mean this is a place that uh obviously I've had some success but I also just really enjoy I think it's a you know it's it's a great course it's it's just uh and it's it's getting harder and harder I think to to make it to East Lake and and to be a part of the Tour Championship and I think uh I'll be the first to admit I think I kind of took it for granted there for for a while thinking you you know you're going to be here every year but that's um you know you got to play really well really solid golf so it's uh it is an accomplishment although I'm Number 30 uh I'm still still happy to be here and um excited to go I heard you played nine yesterday um what are your thoughts on the restoration yeah I just played the back nine yesterday uh to be perfectly honest I did not realize how much was changed I think I I just read an article or two and and the article was kind of only highlighted maybe a couple holes and only saw some pictures and I thought it was just those holes that were changed not uh every single one of them so I was a little surprised by that but I'm blown away at the condition of the course I mean for for a change this uh that recent ago to to be in the condition that this course is in is astonishing um I mean I'm sure as everybody said the greens are incredibly firm so that'll be a challenge but uh I think it'll take a couple years to honestly know exactly what I think about it I mean I I loved it and I didn't think really anything needed to be done beforehand but um but like I think everybody we need to be fair and give it a couple years before you know before we really know how it is we'll open it up to questions we'll start with Rex right here at the front Victor was in here yesterday saying that he didn't feel like he had a great season but then the perspective part of it is if you get to East Lake you seem to have touched on it is there is there some sort of Middle Ground where maybe you look back and you didn't like parts of the season but getting here is an accomplishment in of itself oh for sure there there's plenty plenty of parts of the season I didn't didn't love or didn't like but it is I think it's um like I said I just I really really just took it for granted I'd say you know I think it obvious it was always a goal to be here but I felt like it was although I do feel like it's one that I I I'm capable and should achieve every year it's still it's still an accomplishment uh especially with how the season is now um and and just how much shorter and just and the amount of golf you're playing it just I feel like it puts more emphasis on every event and I think it um I was talking to Adam Scott about it last night it's just I don't think you can really kind of like you know eighth to 20th your way to East Lake is is I feel like you kind of could before um I don't know if that if that statistically actually is accurate or makes sense but I I just felt like you could you know you you could play really well all year and maybe just not finish out some tournaments but just have a lot of top you know kind of 10th 15 20th whatever it was and and you just by the amount of events you're playing and you would end up I felt like being here versus now if you know if you don't have really any top you don't win any top two threes kind of thing like you have to finish a lot of times in the top 10 or be there very very very often I feel like to make it here versus before and you mentioned being 30th does that change your mentality coming into this week at all given where you are and the starting Strokes uh I don't know I very fortunate I've never been in that spot um you know it's always been nice starting with at least some underpar but uh no I mean obviously look it's no secret that my chances are pretty pretty slim this week but they're a lot better than if I was sitting on my couch at home I know that for sure so um I'm just going to try to play as as as good as I can and make as many birdies as I can I mean it's hard to say exactly how the course is going to play play I feel like the old uh course I probably had a better chance of making up ground just for the amount of birdies I feel like it's going to be it's going to be hard to have a you know an seven eight n birdie round out here when I felt like I could do that on the other course or the old um the old design so uh but again I have no idea so we'll see we'll do the woman in the back and then shed to Doug hey JC um is is there a certain change that you might have made this year looking back compared to last year that maybe a shift in mindset or a swing change that you'll look back on as something that you want to continue doing that has helped you this year um a little bit I I feel like I mean it really was just I think I just made and it's it's always a problem I've had of of of overanalyzing or just trying to be perfect if you will but I feel like I just got to much down that road and and but the biggest thing for me I I think where I kind of got in trouble and I get in trouble sometimes is I just lost all ownership um you know I feel like I um and it's no fault to to coaches but it just there was I always had too many people around and it was like I felt like I was too reliant on everybody whether it be my dad or a putting coach or or whatever it may be and um it it works for some people but for me I've always been really good at adjusting in the middle of a round you know I would I wouldn't be scared to change my grip or or have a you know change of Swing thought or something on the course and I because I I'm like this isn't working so I need to do something differently whereas I felt like I kind of lost that accountability and I lost that ownership when I always had you know my Dad here and it's like it wasn't that it wasn't working it just I would get in a habit of hit and I would look and I'm like well what is that and then I lost all of my my own self if you will so I just feel like kind of owning that and being better at at figuring stuff out on my own is is what helped me play better this year and I feel like will help me continue to play better how did you actually make that change um it's hard but it just was um I mean it it's just communication I mean it's like it's it's awkward especially when your coach is is your dad and and I tell him like I don't want you to come out this week and it's not like I don't want my dad here this week I don't want my coach here this week and I think you know we even had that this year and um I mean I remember at at like at Valhalla for the PGA I was this year I was playing great and I felt really good about everything and I I told when we landed in Louisville I told my dad I was like look like this is going to be a tough emotional week for me like it's a lot going on and I was like I don't I don't need my coach this week I need my dad I was like I I'm I'm good I feel good about everything like I like where things are going I don't necessarily want you here this week as a coach but I was like I need my dad I need the person that's going to be there that I can talk to so a lot of it is on me um and everybody involved just communicating that because if I don't say anything obviously they'd never know up here to shed you mentioned things you might not have liked about this year what what did you like over the things that you look back on and say that was pretty good the things I did like mhm uh I mean I felt like definitely getting off to you know got off to a nice start there at the beginning of the year had chances to win a couple tournaments um feel like I I had a couple of those rounds where I I feel like I would have more often or I have had more often in past of I kind of call it like going a little unconscious you know where it's like I feel like every shot is exactly where I want it to be and it's like I just kind of get in this little Zone and it's just pretty much you know love rev but just stay out of the way kind of thing like I'm just I know I feel like I can aim here it's going to come down here and it's just a you know where I I that's where I feel like I can just biry hole after hole after hole after hole and that's um you know it doesn't happen that often but it's a fun feeling when it does and and I feel like I had that a couple times this year but uh you know just getting in contention and I think that's I wasn't in content attention or like really really close on that back nine on a Sunday like I would have liked but I still was there you know decently a decent bit going into Sunday feeling like I had a chance um you know felt like I had two chances to win it weren't great but two chances to win two majors this year the last two of the year and uh you know obviously they didn't turn out anything what I would have would have liked and me Valla was nice and but the open wasn't a great a great Sunday by any means but uh I was there or f i I woke up that morning knowing that I had a chance to win the golf tournament so that's um that's nice and a couple things do you do you feel like you're auditioning this week for Jim um a little bit um I think I I don't feel I don't I guess I would answer that I don't feel like I am for me but if I was him I would say I am if that makes sense like I I think it'd be with how many people have an opportunity um I think it'd be he's he's definitely looking at you know guys that are potential picks and how they're playing but I mean most importantly I am here and I know that you know some guys aren't and it's but then again I was in that spot last year where there were guys that were trying to get picked that were here and I wasn't even in the playoffs so I um I think I talked about it maybe last week or or or Memphis I'm definitely more at ease right now than I was last year about getting picked and it's not from a lack of of wanting to be on the team or feel like it's not as important I just my priorities are a little in a in a better place that I know that if I play the golf I feel like I should then it'll take care of itself so um yeah I obviously really really want to be on that team and I know there's a lot of people that have a chance so it'd be nice to play well for a lot of reasons this week but that definitely be one and then speaking of last year do you watch golf on TV and if you're willing to admit that did you watch much of uh the playoffs last year that you missed and did it motivate you or piss you off either one uh yeah I do watch golf I uh they were I I watched them and all of them I'd say had very different emotions I watched Memphis laughing at how unbelievably uncomfortable and hot everybody looked on TV I remember being in Nashville at our house there and I'm watching TV and like every person I saw on TV I'm like I would love to be there but that sucks like they look they every person looked like they could pass out at any moment how hot it was so I got a little bit of enjoyment out of that um watching Olympia Fields I was actually as funny as enough my you know Jill grew up like 20 25 minutes from Olympia Fields and I was I was in town we were seeing her family of all weeks which was not that fun for me uh went to a couple places and people wished me luck that week and I was obviously not playing but uh you know we got to it was weird you know we went and saw Jordan Annie and and Sammy and and that week so that was a strange one and then watched some on in Atlanta and that was probably the hardest one to watch just cuz I love this place and and really really wanted to be here but um yeah it was very different emotions than all of them we'll go here in the center and then to Bob hey JT um for as somebody who beginning the year outside the top 50 trying to get into those Signature Events I'm wondering if you could speak on the signature event structure your thoughts on it and the potential Pathways that have been created for players like yourself who are outside the top 50 to get into it um yeah they it's a huge huge deal I mean it's I think very similar to making it here it's it's extremely difficult to I mean you have to have a very very good year to be in the top 50 and and and earn your way into those events which I I think is is is fair and rightfully so I don't think it's something that um you know you should get grandfathered into you should you know whatever it may be and so I think the fact that the guys that are the top 50 have earned that I I think is is is great and I also I I felt a lot of pressure this year to play my way into those but it kept me extremely motivated um I didn't want to I didn't want to have to rely on exemptions I didn't want to and it was also weird uncomfortable but I mean yeah reaching out to tournament directors asking for exemptions and and and you know telling them I hope I don't need it but if I do need it can I have one type thing um but I was fortunate enough through I think through world ranking and the you know the Aon next 10 like I was able to to qualify for them so and I like that for the fact that guys that are outside um yeah they might be upset or or not happy that they're in them but they have the same opportunity to play their way in just like myself and everybody else can so uh you know that's that's what we all know we signed up for in golf you can go out and get it yourself so I I think that's great got Bob over here on the right JT do you have a handicap at your home course I do not no how do you if if you ever play with guys who are not Pros but have a game how how does it work like do you just sort of guess as to how to give them shots do you do something like play your worst ball or against them or anything like that crazy probably depends on how much money we're playing for is is how I would you know you want to win the bet on the first te naturally um I mean there's a couple guys that aren't Pros that I we kind of have figured figured out somewhat of what Strokes are you know there's there's a handful of guys down in Jupiter that either tried to play or did play a little bit that you know they very well could go beat us any day that we play play so just you know one or two strokes side something like that but it really is just a guessing game um I think we always do some kind of like adjust at the turn to where if if the match is two up or more either side then you adjust accordingly on the back nine but it's really just a guess the there are some pros that have handicaps at their home Club do you you think it would be odd for a pro to be giving another Pro shots like even in a match at home or is that common definitely not common um I think it'd be pretty I don't want to say disrespectful but uh you know I'd be pretty pissed if like Scotty and I played a practice round and he's like would you want like a stroke on this nine I mean it'd be like what you know what do I think of myself and what does he think of me if he's ask I mean it'd be honestly it'd be a pretty good intimidation Factor so I I mean I definitely have some buddies that I've played with at home that are you know maybe mini tours or stuff like that that people that I'm close enough with where I feel like I can say that and I'll just you know I'll be like you want some Strokes or what do you want and they kind of look at me and I I know right then that I've already won the match because they uh you know that's what I think of them kind of thing thank you all right last one right here on the right pa justtin um this week there's a there's a creators event as well as it's s Championship obviously um I was wondered if your thoughts on sort of maybe are there do you think there's more young people that interested in golf there's more that want to become influencers as well as actual professional golfers like yourself nowadays yeah it's very it's very cool it's obviously very different I think that's the day and age that we're in right now and it's uh at the end of the day if it gets more kids more people interested in golf that's what's most important um and I think I mean I I don't I don't know that that field very well but I know that yeah there's there's a handful of you know influencers people out there that that people know them probably way better than they know me but and and that's not that's not right or wrong but that's just the power of it so I think them being out here and and um you know their time is valuable just like ours is and so for them to take the time at a big week like this and come play a course and and have the opportunity to you know create a little bit bit more Buzz I mean that's uh that's great and it and it also gives kids a different um Avenue to to want to be involved in golf so I think that's that's a good thing regardless if it's professional or or influencer right and then Doug right President's Cup or not there's a there's a big chunk of time coming up from most of the guys in the field horn from Europe um are you comfortable not playing a lot of golf you went to South Africa last year but I mean do are you okay taking a big chunk of time off or do you feel like you still need to play I don't like taking a lot of time off I think I get a little rusty but um I I mean you know I have I have plenty of things planned that fill the fill the uh the time pretty easily but you know just going to take a little three-day vacation with Jill from here I have a foundation event that I'm doing after that and then it's hopefully getting ready for President's Cup after that and then if not um yeah I'll have to figure out what what I'm going to do with my time and I'd like to I'll probably add an event somewhere this fall to do and then uh and yeah so it's just trying to stay somewhat competitively in it and not get too rusty thank you for your time Justin good luck this week