16-time PGA TOUR winner Justin Thomas speaks ahead of the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis. JT shares his thoughts on kicking off the FedExCup Playoffs, returning refreshed after a break post-Open Championship, and how becoming a father has changed his approach to practice. He dives into the course changes, the role of St. Jude’s patients, and even his Memphis rap playlist.
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Good morning everyone. We’ll get things started. We are joined here with 16 time PGA Tour champion Justin Thomas. Justin, entering the week number five in the FedEx Cup. Just started with some opening comments on what it’s like to start the playoff season. It’s all it’s seems like it gets here quicker and quicker every single year. Um, yeah, it’s wild that we’re already in the playoffs and uh and here in Memphis, but um yeah, it’s great. I mean, it’s it’s the time of year that everybody wants to be obviously peing and and and playing their best. Um, you know, I think it’s going to it’s very exciting. I mean, it’s such a such an accomplishment and um and in my opinion, becoming as challenging as ever to to qualify for the playoffs and then BMW and tour championships. So, it’s uh you know, it it truly is I feel like the best the best fields of that we could get in the course of who’s played the best the the whole season and uh yeah, I’m I’m excited to get going. We haven’t seen you since the open championship. Anything particular you’ve been working on or you getting some weeks off with the family? Yeah, I was very excited to take some time off. Uh it’s a it’s a quite a grind, quite a stretch there. It seems like really from kind of PGA until about the open. Um feels like a lot of golf, a lot of traveling. But um yeah, it was just nice to honestly take some time away, just relax a little bit, not do much and and and get back into it. I think uh it’s at least for me the time off is nice to to where I’m excited to to go out to the course and practice and feel like I’m kind of getting ready for something again because it’s uh if not it can become a little you know some days wake up and maybe not quite as motivated or excited as others. So just uh honestly just happy to be here and rested and and and refreshed. And just wrapped up playing the back nine. How’s the course looking entering this week? The course looks awesome. I mean, it’s it’s obviously being being closed through uh with the changes um and no play. I mean, it’s it’s an unbelievable shape. I mean, the fairways are so perfect. The the greens brand new. They’re they’re firm, but they’re some of the best surfaces that we’ll ever putt on. Um, feel like the slope of the greens are definitely softer and and that part will be a little a little easier in terms of kind of around the greens and and chipping once they settle and and aren’t quite as firm and fresh like this. But the the rough is the longest I’ve ever seen it. So, it’s definitely uh a premium on putting the ball in the fairway um on every hole kind of thing. And final one for me before we open up to media posted you have a Memphis playlist. Um, how’s that been going listening to the course and what’s the favorite song on the playlist? Yeah, it’s it’s it’s good. Um, not necessarily any any favorite favorite song uh in particular, but um yeah, I have a I don’t know what what adjective you would use to describe, but I definitely like my rap now and then and um saw a couple good Memphis rap playlist. So, um probably something a lot of people didn’t think I’d listen to, but here we are. Perfect. We’ll open up. We have uh Tim Buckley here with Daily Memphian. We’ll start off with Morning Justin. Um talked about course changes and improvements. Um do you think it makes it a tougher course or more player friendly course? And what about some of the improvements off the course itself like that chipping area? How much is of a benefit is that? Yeah, the chipping green’s great. Um, it that was something I remember the the staff or some people had even asked, you know, last year what I thought of it and and I was like, honestly, I think it’s kind of a a wasted great space. I mean, that you don’t very often on a property get a a a chance to have a a a big chipping facility uh like that. And um it just the green just had way too much slope. You couldn’t even use like half of it. So, they did an unbelievable job of two different greens there. I think it’s a great great addition. But, um, yeah, I think the course I mean the greens being brand new, they’ll be very firm this year. Um, but like I said, they they softened a lot of the slopes. They made they made the greens a little bigger in some areas. So, I mean, you know, anytime they less slope and and make the greens a little bigger, that’s that’s going to make scoring, I would say, a little easier um over the long run. But it’ll it’ll be a couple years before the greens are are not still, you know, fresh and really firm. But a lot of it just when the rough’s like this, it’s it’s different golf course. I mean, um you have a lot of holes where if you don’t if you don’t hit the fairway, you just you’re not going to be able to get to the green. And uh so it’s just um with it playing like that, I I think it’s, you know, it might play a little easier o over the long term, but I think it’s definitely more playable for your everyday member, which is great. Going over here to Dave. Good morning, Justin. Are you uh you’ve had a very nice season. Are are you happy with it? I think so. I don’t know. Um, I definitely know, you know, three ways I can make it a lot happier. Uh, and feel a lot better about it. But it’s it, you know, it’s a I’m definitely not going to make any judgments or or or assess anything for the time being with with three big events left and three tournaments. I feel like I, you know, could have good chances to to go out and and try to win and and put myself in contention. So, that’s the goal just to to try to do that each each week. I’m, you know, I’m teeing it up these next three and and hopefully we can try to get a couple of them and and ultimately the, you know, the FedEx Cup. So, um, it’s hard to say right now, but, uh, ask me again in in three weeks. Hopefully, I will. I’ll do that. Uh, actually, I’m thinking there’s four big events with one in New York coming up, too. Um, back of your mind somewhere just wanting to get that form even better than it is now. Um, yeah. I mean, a little bit. It’s I’m thinking about it, but in terms of form and and playing well for it, I mean, first and foremost, you know, it’s I I I really really want to earn I want to be in that top six. it just for me personally, I I it would um it just would it would it would mean a lot to me to get that done because it’s, you know, it having been picked um or having to rely on a pick a couple times. Um I I definitely like the the level of low stress uh and just the the the sense of calm knowing that you’re qualified versus waiting for that phone to ring. But um but I have a I have a lot of golf tournaments and and a lot of big events between now and then. I’m I’m obviously thinking about it a lot, but uh but in terms of actual golf, I you know, have plenty between now and then to to focus on. Yeah. Last one for me. How is your how’s your practice regimen at home changed since uh you became a dad? How have you just balanced that better? you know, balance the time now that you’re concentrating on somebody who’s obviously going to take up a lot of it and and and rightfully so. For sure. I mean, I’m first off very very fortunate to, you know, have a great wife and Jill who is understanding that, you know, this isn’t just like a fun hobby that I’m doing. This is obviously my job that um while there’s there’s more so the changes are when I’m away from the golf course, right? It’s just not that I’m able to go practice for be gone for six or eight hours during the day and I just come home and sit on the couch. Like I’m I’m well aware that, you know, not only is that what I feel like I should do, but it’s also what I want to do. You know, I don’t want to be a father that is not really present or helping very much. And um we’re very fortunate, you know, where I have a wife who does does so much and helps that it’s nice to return the favor when I can. So, it’s um I I’m I’m way more structured in my practice. I think in the in the beginning it was um I didn’t realize how often I would just kind of go to the course not really knowing what I’m doing. But, uh I I need to know what I’m doing and and try to, you know, just manage the time and just make it much more efficient. I feel like my practice has been a lot more efficient, but um I’m still spending a lot a lot of hours out at the course. It’s just maybe uh a little more refined and productive. Just down the road to Luke. Hey JT. Um you lead the tour in birdie conversion percentage this year. Um I’m just wondering like how would you maybe explain that? Like what makes you good on like converting birdie parts? How do you do something like that? Well, I don’t really know to be honest. Um I like I mean I like making birdies. I like making lots of them. Uh I don’t necessarily feel like I have a different mindset on a birdie putt versus a par putt. I mean, I’m sure I do somewhat, but I don’t um I don’t know. That’s it’s a it’s a very good question. I unfortunately don’t have a very good answer. Really, it sounds like any answer for you, but uh I just know I like making them. That’s about the best I could probably tell you. Oh, totally. Um, and then another question is every time I see you on the range, you’ve got like some obstacle in the way between you and the golf ball, you know? I’m just wondering like how did you land on that being a method that kind of works for you and what’s the kind of thinking for why you use that stuff? I think it’s I mean it just started with my dad at a very young age. I think it’s um it’s like if you’re I mean I do it all the time in proams. It’s like guys that slash across it. It’s like if I put a head cover in front of you to the left, like you’re going to you you need to avoid that head cover. Um, and you know, quite often it they will hit it, but it it’s something of when you’re on the range, everybody reacts to different things differently, but for me it’s just if something is there, like I’m subconsciously going to miss it. And then what I’m trying to do is I’m trying to associate a feel to what I’m doing to miss that or or what which I feel like is, you know, swing properly or move how I want to. So um yeah, it’s something I’ve just I’ve always done. I I feel like I I just react and respond well to to objects or sticks or whatever it is and um I’m able to just kind of react to them. And like I said, yeah, I’m just trying to put something to that kind of thing. Moving over to the left, we have Roman here. Hey, Justin, this is your sixth year playing at TPC Southwind, and you’ve always had a great relationship with the patients at St. Jude. What do the moments you have with these patients throughout the week mean to you in the midst of such a high stakes tournament? It’s it’s great. It’s um I’ve it’s it’s so powerful. Oh, it’s it’s it’s extremely um yeah, it it’s hard to explain. I mean, just the every encounter and and opportunity. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet, you know, some of these kids. It’s uh I mean just met the the sweetest little girl, 13-year-old Michelle on the 11th tea this morning and um I mean she just was not only was she so smart, just spoke so well um but you know she just was so positive, so happy and and just like so gracious to be out there like didn’t really know anything about golf but she didn’t care. Like it was 7:15 in the morning. Like I mean I said to her why you should be in bed right now but she didn’t care. like she just was happy to be there and I’m sure it it gives those kids a whole new perspective and and just an opportunity to look at things a little differently and I know it does for us too because it is we’re we’re so lucky to be able to obviously do what we love and do it at a high level but to and then to have a tournament like this and and you know have St. Jude involved and and um and so many of these kids involved it’s it’s a really really cool thing. A few years ago you had a moment with a patient named Bailey. I don’t know if you remember him. He was actually one of my childhood best friends. So, does that kind of give you those moments like that give you something a little extra to play for? For sure. It felt like a little, you know, a con a cool connection. I mean, I remember a couple years doing like the shoes and and having like Bailey designed pair of shoes for me. Um, and yeah, I’ve been fortunate enough, I mean, to to kind of see some of those kids uh at the tournament or or at a different tournament and in their parents’ families. And um yeah, it it feels like you’re sometimes you don’t, you know, I don’t want to feel like I I I put too much pressure on myself. Obviously, it’s like I want to play well for um for for the kids and for myself, but um yeah, it’s a just another great opportunity, I’d say. Perfect. Any other questions? We’ll go and wrap things up. Justin, thanks for the time. Good luck this week.
3 Comments
Let’s go jt!!!!
Great interview
I am pretty sure he is going to
Play well