Q. Opening round of playoffs. How would you assess your first round?
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN: Good. Yeah, it was a little tough kind of dealing with the heat and there's still a sickness, kind of hacking up on every hole.
But good. I was very solid tee to green, I would say. Managed to make some putts and obviously a nice chip-in on the last.
Q. I guess with the elements of the heat and not feeling well, how do you block out that noise to just kind of focus?
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN: You just have to accept that you're not feeling great and stuff's going to happen. Like I hit a great drive on 1 and hit my first shot 30, 40 yards fat. It's just going to happen. You kind of adjust. You can't hang over the ball for too long.
Yeah, it was just it is what it is.
Q. When did you start feeling these symptoms? Did you consider not playing? Was that never even really an option?
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN: No, I was going to play. There were points yesterday where it's like, if it doesn't get any better, if it gets a little worse, it might be worth a thought, especially with it being a very early wakeup call this morning.
But I feel like whenever you are sick, it's always toughest right before you go to bed and right when you wake up. Obviously I just kind of went through my same routine. It would have been a very last-minute decision if I were to pull out.
Yeah, I think Tuesday I probably started to feel something and then obviously got worse yesterday. Today is -- I mean, sometimes I feel better, sometimes I don't. I'm on antibiotics right now. I think 24 hours is around right now, and then giving myself another 24 hours, I should be feeling much better.
Q. Is there anything just with the heat or with that, that you did differently today to kind of deal with that?
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN: I feel like it's better with heat because, when you're breathing in, it doesn't hurt as much. Obviously you have to really focus on staying hydrated. I feel like I did a pretty good job on that today. Yeah, if you're over the ball for a little bit too long, it can get a little stuffy and congested, but it was okay. I managed.
Q. You're in an interesting spot in the standings where you know you're in for next week but there's work to be done over the next two weeks to get to East Lake. Sinuses aside, how have you kind of approached that eight-round stretch between this week and Bellerive?
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN: Yeah, I think, like you said, I'm basically playing an eight-round tournament. So you don't really want to take too many big risks, or you kind of just plot your way around. And come St. Louis, if something needs to be done on that final round or the final back nine, I'll try to make a move, but up until then, we're just fairways and greens, fairways and greens.
Q. With how you're feeling, how important is the next 24 hours for you? Does it look any different preparing, or do you just try to take more rests?
MICHAEL THORBJORNSEN: I'll kind of step inside and eat some food. I would like to get into the gym, but I'll talk to my physio team to see if that's a smart idea or if we should just kind of pack it in for the day.
Yeah, I'm just happy I'm here. I'm happy to tee it up today.
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