Q. J.T., pretty much kept your promise. When you were here yesterday you said you were going to work on padding your lead, and you're in a pretty good position heading into the weekend.
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, that was the game plan coming into the day. Last week the one thing I think I learned after playing well Thursday was to try and keep the pedal down.
I think this golf course may yield a few more birdies than last week, but at the same time, you got to go out there and hit some golf shots to stay aggressive.
I was able to do that, which is nice.
Q. Got on fire the last couple weeks, and all the work you've been putting into the game is really paying off. How do you feel heading into the weekend?
J.T. POSTON: I feel great. My last few rounds out here have been great going back into last week, so just going to try and keep riding that momentum and doing what I'm doing, don't change anything, and just kind of take the good looks when they come, and when I don't have a good number or don't feel good over it, just be smart about it.
Fortunately I'm in that position and I can do that.
Q. Four birdies in the first five holes. Considering what you did yesterday, thoughts after that? I mean, you got to be thinking, man, is anything going to go wrong at this point?
J.T. POSTON: No, I didn't think anything. Just trying to stay focused on the next hole, the next shot. I knew the wind wasn't going to blow today like it did a little bit yesterday, so I knew that other guys would shoot low numbers, too.
I didn't want to take my foot off the gas. I wanted to try and build that lead as much as I could going into tomorrow and going into Sunday, and just try and go as low as I can.
Q. You said you were eager to get back out here. Sat around for an hour or so. Did that make you more antsy coming out?
J.T. POSTON: No, not too much. I think just, again, I was just excited and eager to get out here and play. Game is in a great spot, so it's fun to get out there and make a bunch of birdies and play the way I've been playing.
I was just excited to get out there and do it. Being pushed back an hour wasn't really too big of a deal.
Q. If you look at your year, couple Top 10s but then kind of follow up with a little bit -- you missed a couple cuts. This is a great performances here six rounds now. What was keeping you back early in the season and what have you maybe unlocked here now?
J.T. POSTON: I don't know if it's anything too specific, because when I had those good weeks earlier in the year, those top finishes, it was a lot of stuff like this week where I was hitting the ball in the fairways and I was really sharp with the iron play and not making too many mistakes.
I think some of those weeks following those good weeks, I don't know if it's a learning curve and I'm just trying to learn how to rest a little bit in between tournaments or kind of best prepare myself for Thursday.
I have kind of a routine every week that I get to the golf course, play in practice rounds, practicing, getting the speed of the greens. I think sometimes I'm learning that it's a little more important to rest a little more and not put quite as much time into the practicing and the grinding leading up to the week.
Q. Did you sense any difference here than compared to weeks past?
J.T. POSTON: No, honestly. It's just the same that it's been. The ball striking, again, has been great. Made a few good putts. My speed has been pretty good on the greens.
I just have that feeling. I know if I can give myself some decent looked, I feel confident enough over the putter I can make some birdies.
Q. Last time you had a 36-hole lead was the Barbasol last year. What's the mentality sleeping on this lead? What did you learn from holding that position a year ago that you you can bring into the weekend?
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, the biggest takeaway from that week is it's a 72-hole tournament. I know that that week last year probably looked like I was going to run away with it and ended up not winning and losing the playoff.
I'm only halfway through the tournament. It's easy to get ahead of yourself I think when you got the lead and start thinking about late on Sunday.
I got to go play a whole other round of golf before I can even think about Sunday. That's going to kind of be my approach.
Q. Does it make a difference knowing you may have a three-, maybe four-shot lead heading into tomorrow?
J.T. POSTON: Not really. Again, this course right now, the weather is perfect. The course is in great shape. Guys are going to make a lot of birdies.
I wouldn't be surprised if whoever is kind of right there in the mix tomorrow shoots 10-, 12-, 13-under on the weekend. I think it's very possible.
I know I need to keep the pedal down and try and match that.
Q. After the birdie on 13 you looked like you might be able to maybe match a 62 or go 63, 64. Driver right, driver right. When you look at the leaderboard and see the five-stroke lead, did the game change? What were the last five holes like?
J.T. POSTON: No, honestly, the driver right on 14 was kind of where we were trying to hit it. We were just trying to set up an angle into that pin, and we did just that. Just missed the fairway by a couple yards, so I was pretty happy where that ended up. Just didn't really judge the chip shot very well.
The one on 15 I missed the fairway by a yard, so it really wasn't too far off. I made some good swings. The only one really was the second shot on 18. We just kind of misjudged the wind a little bit.
Again, like a lot of them, I'm hitting really good shots and sometimes they don't end up where you want. If I know I'm hitting them how I want to and where I want to, then I can carry that into the weekend.
Q. A lot of shorts putts again today. The one on 9 for birdie there, just well-hit, well-read or what -- I mean, you had the hallmark of the hole-out on 4 yesterday. Kind of that was probably your signature moment today. Kind of what was the -- talk me through that putt.
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, it is nice. I mean after kind of giving one back on 6, a pretty careless bogey from the middle of the fairway and a wedge, and just trying to get some of that momentum back.
I hit a decent iron in there. It was kind of an in-between number, and wasn't really a pin we wanted to fire at, so I left myself that 30-footer or so below the ridge.
Yeah, again, I touched on it, my speed feels like it's been pretty good. I was just able to match up the line there and make it, which was great. Kind of get some momentum back.
Q. Just along the lines of what you were talking about, the Barbasol experience, wire to wire wins aren't that uncommon out here, but it seems like they've got to be really hard. You you get to Sunday, is it just you've be been feeling it and feeling it and feeling it, the heat or...
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, any time you're in contention, whether you've been leading since Thursday or the back nine on Sunday for the first time, any time you get up there are some nerves. There is some pressure.
So thankfully I've put myself in that position a few times in my career and I know that I can do it. I've done it in Greensboro before, so just going to try and lean on that going into the weekend.
Again, only halfway there so it's easy to start thinking about that, but I'm just going to try and build that lead as much as I can going into Sunday.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports