Q. Can you just give us an overview of your round today?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Yeah, I played really, really well. It was very difficult out there. I just didn't get anything out of it.
I fought back and stayed very patient for having some things not go my way. It's a bummer to finish with a bogey on 18, but really played solid today.
Q. Compared to the rest of the field in these conditions you did play pretty well. Given some of the setbacks, what was working well for you?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I hit it really well. I drove it well. Hit my irons really well. Just had a hard time saving pars when I missed greens, but yeah, tee to green I played beautifully.
THE MODERATOR: What do you think about the setup today, the conditions you're dealing with, and what the rest of the field is going to be --
JUSTIN THOMAS: It's great. I said to Bones walking up 18, this is how a U.S. Open should be. It's very difficult. Par is great score on a lot of holes. Bogeys aren't going to kill you.
We don't do this very often, and I think it's very, very fitting and totally acceptable to have this kind of test and this difficult setup for a U.S. Open, and it's strictly because of conditions.
The greens are getting firm. It's windy, and it should be tough.
Q. You said you're going to go practice. What are you working on?
JUSTIN THOMAS: I'm going to go putt some.
Q. What happened on 4? What was the ruling? Can you walk us through that?
JUSTIN THOMAS: It just was -- to me it was around a drain, and very clearly it my stance and my ball was sitting differently than it would be if that drain was not there. I called an official to get a ruling on it, and in the spirit of the game I didn't -- I wasn't going to hit the drain. I felt like I very easily could have told her that I was going to and gotten a free drop, but I wasn't.
Yeah, it's unfortunate because it was a great drive, and I had a pitching wedge in my hands, and I could only hit the ball -- I only hit it 100 yards. I mean, yeah, it's very clear that my stance and where my ball was was altered and sitting bad because of that drain, but didn't get a drop from it. That's just how it is. You have to be able to hit the drain to get a drop.
Q. Last question for you. I know we still have a few groups out there, but where you stand right now going into tomorrow, how do you feel about it?
JUSTIN THOMAS: Not great. I would feel better if I was five or six shots better. Those guys have a lot of golf left. Selfishly, for my sake, hopefully they can stay within striking distance because this is a great place to post. Hopefully I can get hot tomorrow and then go post a number and give them a score to look at for a couple of hours.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports