Q. This is the only TOUR stop where you can shoot 62 and have a one-shot lead, right?
J.T. POSTON: Actually probably there's a few, but it's definitely on the list, for sure.
Q. Easy to say you had a great finish, 7-under in your last seven holes, but a pretty decent start too. Just overall what was the day like?
J.T. POSTON: It was just one of those days where everything was sort of clicking. I really hit my irons great, drove it good, gave myself plenty of chances, and, yeah, believe it or not missed a few putts inside of 10 feet the first nine holes. Just one of those days tee to green it was really good and iron play was really sharp.
Q. You bogeyed 9 or, I mean, 1 coming around, and then went crazy. Was it just the putts were starting to fall that didn't fall on the front nine?
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, just, I don't want to say I didn't make anything on front, but I just knew I was hitting my irons good, and I knew that I was going to have plenty of chances coming in. Definitely had some bonus ones there, and stole a few, making a long eagle putt on 7 that you're not really expecting to make. Then 8 hitting it as close as I did is kind of a bonus, making 2 there. So I just, you know, I just told myself after the bogey I was going to just keep plodding along and try and give myself as many looks as I could.
Q. How long was the putt on 7?
J.T. POSTON: I don't know, probably 30, 35 feet.
Q. 8?
J.T. POSTON: About three inches.
Q. Oh, that close.
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, almost made it. It's a pin you have no business going for, and it was one of those where we were looking left, and I flushed it but pushed it maybe five yards, and it rolled right on down there close to the hole.
Q. You have a pretty decent record here the last couple of years, 11th and 6th, I think, 7th, somewhere, a couple years ago, just golf courses suit you or?
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, I think it kind of suits the strengths of my game. I feel like my strengths are putting, especially when the greens are this good. Sort of my wedge play, iron play, when I feel like I'm really hitting it good, I feel like I've got all the shots and can get the ball close to the hole and really take advantage of those scoring clubs. Yeah, I feel like I can go out there and make a bunch of birdies like I did today, so I feel like a tournament like this sort of plays into that.
Q. Your track record here is excellent. I remember we talked last year, you were knocking on the door of this tournament again. What do you think it's ultimately going to take for you to capture the AmEx?
J.T. POSTON: I think it's just going to, I mean, the scores are so low here, I think it's, you got to just kind of keep the pedal down and not really pay attention to the leaderboard and where you are on the leaderboard. Guys can reel off a bunch of birdies kind of like I did at the back end of my round, so things can change pretty quick. My mentality is just try and keep going low, stay aggressive, and really start page to that leaderboard maybe later on Sunday.
Q. Heard from some of the other players about the changes to the Stadium. Have you had the opportunity in recent days to get some practice in there and did you notice any of the changes in particular?
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, we played it on Tuesday, and it's definitely, there's a few subtle changes. For the most part it's just kind of resurfacing the greens and maybe making them a little bit bigger. With the new surface they're definitely firmer, so it's always been the toughest of the three this week, but I think it will especially play tough just with that firmness. I think you may not see quite as many birdies, but again there's a lot of wedge, a lot of scoring clubs, so somebody will still play well out there and shoot a low number.
Q. How much difference does it make for you playing two weeks in Hawaii coming in here, do you feel a little bit more prepared in that situation?
J.T. POSTON: A little bit. I think it's nice to kind of, coming off the off-season there's a little bit of rust sometimes. Sometimes you show up and it's sharp, but there's never, it's hard to really know kind of where your game's at until you kind of get that tournament atmosphere. So I do think it helps to get a few events under your belt before getting here, a place that I know I like and have played well, so it's definitely a benefit I think to start the year.
Q. Seems like playing golf in the desert is good for you, you won in Vegas, how much confidence did that give you towards the end of the last year to bring it into 2025?
J.T. POSTON: Yeah, a ton of confidence. I felt like I had played well for the most part, didn't quite finish the season as strongly as I would have liked, the regular season. I knew I was doing a lot of good things and just trying to keep doing my own thing, and not, you know, not push too much, and just kind of trust that I was working on the right things and it was going to pay off. It did in Vegas, and hopefully can do it again this week.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports