Q. How much did the conditions change from the second delay?
JUSTIN THOMAS: They changed quite a bit. I'm trying to think. The wind totally flipped there for a second, and I thought we were going to get really lucky and get to play a round of golf with zero wind, knowing some guys had to play with quite a bit. That turned out not to be the case. We had it calm for a couple holes. Yeah, it was gusty out there, but the guys in the morning had it pretty windy, as well.
Q. What was it like when you got to 11 and you weren't really in go zone anyway, but then you get to 12 and the flag is not moving a lick?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, 11 is a bummer just because you're standing on the tee -- I couldn't get there in two. Brooks hit an absolutely perfect drive literally up the left edge of the fairway and had 275 in. I mean, I wouldn't have gone for it from 275.
But that being said, I mean, it's like you have to hit a 3-wood off the tee and then you have to lay up to that fairway with probably another 5-wood or a 4-iron, whatever it is. Getting through that hole was hard enough, when usually it's a birdie hole or trying to make par.
And then getting to 12, it was a guessing game to say the least. Long is so bad, to that pin especially, and it's not like you can try to leave it in that short bunker. I got pretty lucky to hit it in there so it went to the downslope. No, you're really just trying to get your best guess.
Q. When you start out and you see Collin at nine shots ahead of you basically at 13, do you just set kind of a target for what you want to do for the day?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Not really. I know how this place is. It's the same every year. It's right in front of you. It's gettable. It's usually not playing this difficult in terms of the wind. But it's quite a bit softer just with a bit of rain. You've got to control your ball. I controlled it well. You could do some damage. And then if you miss the fairways and aren't hitting it very well, then it's tough. Nothing is hidden out here. It's all right in front of you; you just have to go out and get it. I knew we had three days left, now it's two days left, so there's no reason to try to set a certain goal. Just try to make as many birdies as we can.
Q. What did you think of Brooks' finish?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, it was pretty gutsy. I would still take it as a chance. The guys finishing in the morning will probably hurt that. But it's a funny game. I've been in that position before, unfortunately, or we all have, but it's almost like when you stop caring you start playing better. There's a lesson somewhere in that, but it's hard to go out there and play and not care.
Q. What does it mean to you to not have any bogeys?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It means a lot, but it would be --
Q. It doesn't mean anything, but --
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, no, it says a lot about where my game is at. It would say a lot more if I had it after two more rounds with no bogeys.
Q. Do you have a little better handle on this golf course now? You said you were trying to get a little better handle on the course. Do you have a little better after two solid rounds?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, kind of like I said yesterday, I just think I'm understanding and learning to pick my spots on certain holes. A hole like 10 today, hit a really good drive, it just went in the first cut, and because I was in the first cut, I wasn't able to be aggressive to that pin. Although if I was in the fairway it's an opportunity to try to hit it close; with an iron in my hand I feel comfortable. But not knowing how it's going to come out, I have to try to hit it to somewhere on the green and make a 4. So it's little things like that that I think I'm doing well this week.
Q. Was there a question on 14 about going for it or not? It's risk-reward there.
JUSTIN THOMAS: It's very risk-reward. I went for it today because I've hit a lot of really, really good 3-woods so far. Otherwise I wouldn't have. If I had it over, I would have laid up 100 times out of 100. It's a real easy pin. It's a wedge downwind; I'm never going to have more than 10 feet with a wedge, and there's a lot of bad things that can happen. Not saying it because it was a stupid play. It's just I feel like my wedge game is good enough where I should have just gotten in the fairway and gone from there.
Q. What prompted it, just feeling it?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I just was trying to get it up in the front bunker, and like I said, I've been hitting my 3-wood really well today. If I wouldn't have been hitting it well, Jimmy or I wouldn't have liked it, but we had confidence in it.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports