Justin Thomas looks ahead to the WM Phoenix Open, explaining why fans aren’t afraid to boo any golfer and that he enjoys the ‘controlled chaos’ of the event. #GolfChannel #GolfCentral #JustinThomas
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Justin Thomas: WM Phoenix Open ‘fans aren’t scared to boo you’ | Golf Central | Golf Channel
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feel like I’m I’m playing well I feel
like things are continuing to Trend in
in the right direction uh back at a
place I really enjoy and and um feel
like I’ve had a couple chances to win
and pass and haven’t been able to so uh
yeah I’m just I’m really hoping that
this isn’t a sign of things to come for
the weather and the PJ tour season um
how these last couple weeks have been
but um no it’s always enjoyable here and
um and yeah I’m I’m excited to get going
and you mentioned this being a place
you’re comfortable at you have four T in
The Last 5 Years here just tied for the
most of anyone on on tour I guess just
what is it about this venue is it the
atmosphere on on 16 and in general I
mean what is it about this this place
that seems to kind of bring out the best
in your game I I think it it definitely
in my opinion it it fits
uh it’s it’s a it it’s definitely a
benefit to be a longer hitter I think
you have a couple holes where you can
you can take a couple bunkers out of
play or um I mean even with the rain
that I think they’ve gotten thep greens
are still not soft um at least they’re
they’re very very firm compared to
Pebble last week but uh it’s just I
think with the par fivs hitting long
irons into the greens or even Woods you
know being able to hit irons up in the
air and and and feel like you can kind
of hold the greens or stop them uh I
think is an advantage but also I I feel
like I I know how to get it around here
pretty well um I just I feel like I’ve
stayed patient every year and I just
kind of wait on my little run whenever
it happens over the course of 72 holes
and uh and just try to minimize the
mistakes and then just speaking to the
the crowd atmosphere out here on 16
you’ve always been someone to to get get
the fans hyped out there what is I mean
what if anything does that do or do you
look forward to just being able to
interact with the fans in that way this
week yeah it’s very unique I think it’s
great that there’s there’s one uh one a
year because um it they this they do it
right you know I I think uh people
underestimate that you know when you
have how many people are on the ho what
20,000 is 20,000 people in one place you
know when there’s a lot of constant
noise it doesn’t uh it kind of it just
is is almost like a white noise sound
but you know when you when you get a
thousand people and and you get a couple
people that decide to be that person uh
then it’s just kind of annoying so it’s
uh it’s great here and um yeah they
they’ve done a great job of of trying to
control the chaos as much as they can
but uh I always enjoy you know the the
banter and and trying to more than
anything try to hit it close and try to
make a birdie because uh yeah they ain’t
scared to boo you no matter who you
are perfect all right we’ll go ahead and
get started with questions just go and
raise your hand and we’ll get a mic to
you we’ll start with k here in the back
hey JT I know we’ve talked about this a
bit but when you think back to
2023 what did you see in your swing at
the time that you were trying to change
and at what
point now with the swing did you decide
to kind of go back to where you were
before any of those Chang
es yeah I I definitely over the years or
in my career I feel like I’ve um I mean
my dad will be the first to tell you and
and I will too now as I I chase perfect
maybe a little bit too much or it’s just
a tendency I think a lot of us have uh
maybe not necessarily perfect but
wanting your swing to look a certain way
and I felt like my hands were really
really start I mean I’ve always had high
hands but I felt like they were just
creeping a little too much I just felt
like it it was something that was uh I
just kind of needed to Monitor and so I
wanted to just try to get him a little
bit lower and um and because of that I I
ended up doing it off of the ball
instead of at the top so I just would
basically suck it inside get my hands
away inside and then my club would get
really steep going back and then because
of that I had to lay it down to get it
on a good plane and it just was I mean I
look back at videos from last year and
I’m not surprised that I played as
inconsistently as I did cuz I I said it
last year I mean I I I really do feel
like I I have good enough hands to make
it work you know a couple days a week
but it’s just completely unrealistic to
do that for four days uh and as good as
the players are out here I think it’s um
I I was making it very hard on myself
but honestly it was after the British
Open uh obviously a very long flight
home I really just was looking at
current videos old videos I mean I have
a a folder on my phone of you know all
of my favorite swing videos over the
years and and ones that I like the most
and I really couldn’t fathom or
understand how I got that far off so uh
just trying to yeah kind of like you
said get back into some old habits some
some things that maybe I don’t like how
it looks as much but just that’s in my
DNA that’s that makes me who I am and um
and yeah it it’s taken and still is a
lot of golf balls to get that muscle
musle memory back and and get it in a in
a spot that I’m comfortable with but uh
I I sure like this version a lot
better let’s go to Dan right here Rory
was talking last week about a phone call
he had with Jordan about a disagreement
about the the path forward with the
Strategic Sports Group deal now in place
do you feel like the tour can can go on
its own now or do you still feel like
there needs to be this coming together
sort of for the good of the
game uh I don’t I’m not necessarily
super adamant in um one way or the other
I think I just I want the best product
and the and the best players I would say
that you know there’s a handful of
players to on live that would make the
tour a better place but I’m definitely
not in the the agreement that should
just be able to come back uh that easily
I think there’s a lot of us that made
sacrifices and um and we’re very you
know either whether it’s true to our
word or what we believe in or just
didn’t make that decision and um and I
and I totally understand that things are
changing and things are getting better
but uh it just would I would have a hard
time with it and I think a lot of guys
would have a hard time with it and I’m
sure we don’t need to convince you why
we would have a hard time with it uh so
I mean I think there’s yeah there’s a
scenario somewhere whatever it is down
the road of of
um of some kind of version of of some
guys being back but uh when and what
that is I I have no idea and then do you
get the sense that strategic Sports
Group is going to make significant
changes to the PGA because obviously
they’re investing money they want to
change the product or do you think it
will look pretty similar at least
initially I’m not sure I I really don’t
know like you said I mean that it’s not
um yeah you don’t get to be who they are
and you also don’t invest that much
money for fun just because you love the
game of golf like clearly this is
something that they view as an
investment and and to be able to have it
grow which is is exciting as a player
but also as a fan of golf because for
that to continue to grow and get better
then our product is going to get better
which is going to be more
fan friendly to watch you know
everything about it should continue to
get better and more and more um
watchable and enjoyable and and just
people wanting to be fans of golf so
that part of it is exciting to me both
as a player and as a
fan right Ben right over here M uh Adam
Scott once told me that after a down
year in 2009 uh he was picked for the
international president Cup team sort of
out of the blue or maybe there was a
debate whether he should you know be on
that team or not but being picked
catapulted his confidence back and sent
him to the best four years of his career
Etc winning the Masters what not world
number one is there any sort of I guess
similarity to you getting that
confidence boost and getting kicked back
into gear at the end of last year
I mean it it definitely gave me a lot of
confidence boost but it um it just it
was unbelievable the amount of relief
that I had playing in Napa versus when I
played in Minnesota and Windam in the in
the rest of the season like I didn’t I
knew I was thinking about it but I
didn’t realize how much it was consuming
my life and um it’s wild I mean it’s
like it it clearly is a problem because
it there were other issues but I just
was trying so hard to make that team and
to play well to where I I earned that
spot on on the team you know I’d never
been picked and I didn’t want to have to
be picked I wanted to qualify and then
it was like I wasn’t playing well and
now I’m like oh I really have to earn my
pick and it just I I yeah I it was more
of a relief for me like mentally and
emotionally than anything but talking to
the guys whether it was at the practice
session or that week and and kind of
hearing how the conversations went um it
it you know there were just things that
guys told me and and their confidence in
me that they didn’t need to tell me but
was very nice of them that definitely
made me feel a lot better about the
situation and I’ll just add um I guess
all the trends and all the numbers and
everything point to you having a massive
week here like you normally do so I’ll
flip it on you what’s the one thing I
guess that stopped you from maybe just
getting over the finish line
here um I mean
it’s I haven’t had a good Sunday when
I’ve been in contention I’ve I’ve back
doored a couple top fives um I think
this is a place where yeah if you if you
have a hot week I mean if you’re I feel
like for me the the two keys are driving
it well and putting it well I think if I
drive it well I should make very very
very few bogeys um and then if you’re
putting it well you can just make so
many birdies uh that’s obviously
extremely duh like if you drive it or
putt it well any week but uh I just you
you know there’s some courses I I feel
like you can kind of just you know maybe
I don’t need to putt grade or whatever
but it’s um it’s just a it’s a huge
Advantage if I do you know I feel like
if I’m able to do you know hit good
drives in the part fives take advantage
of those and some of the longer par
fours where you know maybe you’re
without a good drive is is you’re trying
to make five or four and then all of a
sudden turns into a birdie hole so
um it could just be wanting to win too
bad just trying a little too hard
3 Comments
I really hope JT has an awesome year!
He’s a bug
Let’s go Justin Thomas