Atlanta Drive GC 6, Boston Common Golf 3.
THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Atlanta Drive GC here into the media center. Congratulations on clinching a playoff berth. How does it feel, guys?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Awesome.
BILLY HORSCHEL: It feels great. I think that was our goal. We were on a text chain saying last week, hey, let's clinch it, let's make sure we wrap up the Playoffs next week, and that's what our mindset was, and we did it. Maybe a little bit more exciting than we wanted it to be, but yeah, we got the job done.
JUSTIN THOMAS: On the way to win. That's all we've got to do.
Q. I'm sure you meant to make that chip, right, that last one?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Are you really giving me some golf shot critiqueness right now?
Q. Just wanted to ask how you had planned that?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I definitely did. I used the up slope to my advantage, and there was definitely some luck involved, but it was in my mind somewhere that it would happen that way. But I wasn't necessarily planning on it, but I'm glad that it worked out how it did.
BILLY HORSCHEL: I think I've watched every TGL match and I've seen a lot of chip-ins, but that may be one of the best ones. I don't think people understand how good of a shot that was.
JUSTIN THOMAS: It was my best one that I've hit for sure.
Q. Pat, you've kind of been the brains behind the hammer. What do you feel about the new rules, and you guys had quite a few that you threw today. What was the strategy behind that?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, the new hammer strategy has been great. It's kept the matches really close all the way to the end, so it's been exciting, and it's been fun to try and figure out how to throw them at the right times. I think we've done a good job with that.
Q. I've noticed you guys are the only people that are throwing the hammer in somewhat 60/40 situation. A lot of teams are throwing them in 90/10 --
JUSTIN THOMAS: Shh! No idea what you're talking about.
Q. Do you guys rest the starters now? How does that work next week?
BILLY HORSCHEL: No comment.
Q. More serious question, for anyone who wants to answer it, who's the most surprising person that you've feedback from, four matches or so into this, and what was it?
PATRICK CANTLAY: I've been very impressed with Billy's energy, and hanging with him has been a pleasure. He's been playing fantastic golf, too, as we saw tonight. The birdie he made coming in the last little stretch of singles was clutch, and then he puts on the chain after every match. How can you not love it?
Q. Billy, you're pretty connected in golf and society in general. Anybody that's surprised you that's reached out and told you they were watching?
BILLY HORSCHEL: No. I mean, I think maybe a few guys that are older in life, of a certain age, over 65, 70. I thought that that may not be -- this may not be something for them, but I think from the few people that have come up and talked to me at certain -- wherever I've been around Ponte Vedra, at tournaments, they've sort of enjoyed it. So I think that that's neat that that age bracket that we thought we may not grab, we're grabbing some of those guys, and they're being entertained and enjoying the golf that we're trying to display.
Q. Pat, a lot of times in your career you've been called the Ice Man. You're very stoic out there, very professional. You seem like you're having the time of your life. Why is that?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it's fun being on a team with these guys. I think we get along great. There's good chemistry between us, and it's a fun environment out there. The crowd brings the energy every night, and it's just a blast being with these two guys because they're such great guys.
Q. Where does the chemistry come from?
PATRICK CANTLAY: Billy was saying earlier, just that I feel like all of us can kind of interchange and take the lead or make a decision or help in a spot and no one really has any ego on our team. We're just out there trying to be as competitive as possible.
I know the three of us want to win as bad as anyone out there, and it just translates into really good golf.
Q. That shot on 13, how did you actually hit it? What adjustments did you make? Have you ever hit a shot like that before on a golf course?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It's hard to think of any that I've had like that. You've seen we've -- Pat and I, not to be cocky, but I would say Pat and I are two of the better chippers, and I think we've missed like three or four greens combined on chips out here.
You can get different lies that it's hard to -- but everybody has to adjust to it.
But the reason I say that is I was fortunate to have a downgrain lie, which a lot of the bad chips we've hit have been into the grain, so between that and the hill, I was able to get the height and the spin on it. But it can come out pretty quick on this turf, so it really was just kind of -- the feeling was kind of throwing the handle a little bit and almost kind of letting the bounce and then just honestly, it's a guessing game from there how far it's going to go. I really did -- I felt like for some reason if it went in the bunker I had a backstop. If it stayed up top, I had a chance to make it. But it definitely was a harder shot that I would not like to have to hit again. But it's cool to pull it off when stuff like that happens.
Q. As sports fans, you guys know how electric a playoff chase is. What's it feel like to be in one in a team setting?
BILLY HORSCHEL: I think it's cool. Every time I walk into this arena, I get goosebumps. I could never imagine anytime in my life that I'd be playing golf inside an arena, and you compare it to NFL players, NBA players, other players that play in an arena, that feeling you get when you walk inside that arena every game is amazing.
To be in the Playoffs with teams and something that's not been done before -- obviously we have the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, but this is completely different. I think it's exciting. It's new. Our plan is to continue to build this and make this up in the last years to come, and to be in the playoffs for the first time and have a chance to win the inaugural SoFi Cup, you couldn't ask for a cooler moment over the next couple weeks and see how it all plays out.
Q. Normally when a sports team gets in the playoffs, they celebrate. What's the plan?
BILLY HORSCHEL: AB said he had champagne in the back. I'm not sure if that's true, but I think we're all just going to go to bed. It's pretty late. My bedtime was about two and a half hours ago.
JUSTIN THOMAS: Same.
BILLY HORSCHEL: I had a Celsius before and I'm pretty jacked up still, so I've got to find some way to calm down over the next couple hours and get some sleep.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports