For Justin Thomas, who “chirps a lot,” according to his buddy Rickie Fowler, competition on the golf course is essential. In fact, during the discussions in 2022 about TGL’s potential inaugural match, an excited JT exclaimed, “Team golf events have always been highlights throughout my career, as the us-vs.-them mentality fuels my competitive spirit.” Three years later, nothing has changed. The 2025 RBC Heritage winner loves to see competition on the greens, whether in an individual or team format, even if he isn’t present himself.
The thrilling playoff match between Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose at Augusta National was exactly that. In the playoff, McIlroy executed a perfect wedge shot that rolled to within three feet of the hole. When Rose missed a 15-foot putt to extend the playoff, McIlroy sealed the victory with his short putt, finally claiming the title. Undoubtedly, the day was tough for the Irishman; however, no one enjoyed the rising tension more than JT.
Justin Thomas sat down for a press conference at the Truist Championship. Therein, when asked if he watched the Augusta National actions after his 4th round ended, he replied, “I unfortunately had finished kind of like when the leaders were teeing off, but I’m a golf fan. He added, “I was very excited to get home and watch the entire round on TV.” Here’s why he was excited: JT hoped for tough competition at Augusta National and didn’t want to see anyone win by a huge margin.
“I was fortunate to see Rory at home after that, and I joked with him. I was like, you know, as the golf fan in me, I wanted a good tournament, I wasn’t necessarily — didn’t want anything. He added, “I don’t want to say like bad to happen to anybody, but I wanted — I didn’t want to see somebody win by four or five as a golf fan, not specifically who it was. Then for a second I was like, all right, dude, it’s a tournament now. You’re good. You can go ahead and enjoy watching it like the rest of us. No, I was glued to the TV, and I was very excited to watch.”
Despite finding enjoyment in the struggle, JT congratulated McIlroy after posting his career Grand Slam win on Instagram: “Nothing quite like Masters week! Fun way to finish it off with a double chip-in on 18 with @minwoo27lee. Congrats to @rorymcilroy on an amazing win, very well earned and motivating!”
Fortunately for JT, his first win since the 2022 PGA Championship didn’t come easily either. In the playoff at the RBC Heritage, Andrew Novak had a strong chance to win but unfortunately missed a 10-foot birdie putt. As a result, he and Thomas had to return to the 18th hole at Harbour Town for the playoff.
Since Novak couldn’t make his long birdie putt, Thomas seized the opportunity and made an impressive 21-foot putt to win the signature event. However, for a golfer who “loves competition,” he needs to work on this one thing to provide a stronger challenge at the PGA Championship.
Justin Thomas may need more work to bring competition to Quail Hollow
Talking about his goal heading into the 2025 season, Thomas said, “I really want to hit 60 percent of my fairways, like I can’t seem to do it in my career thus far, but this is going to be my year; I can feel it.” Putting and iron play are working in his favor. However, his driving skills need more work for him to succeed the second time at Quail Hollow.
At Quail Hollow, Justin Thomas’s driving problems could create big challenges because of how the course is set up. The course has narrow fairways and hazards that are placed in tricky spots. So Thomas will need to be very accurate when he hits off the tee. Thomas is ranked 122nd in SG: Off The Tee and has a driving accuracy of only 58.21%. That means he might struggle to stay on the fairways. Even though he can hit the ball a long way, averaging 303.9 yards, that power might not make up for the trouble he could face if he misses the fairways.
His mix of long drives and low accuracy could cause problems at Quail Hollow, where it’s very important to hit the fairways to set up good shots to the tough greens. If Thomas can’t keep his drives on the fairway, he might end up in tricky spots and risk making bogeys, which could hurt his overall performance at the PGA Championship.
Even though he is great at hitting the ball well with his irons and has strong skills from tee to green (ranked 4th), the need for accuracy at Quail Hollow means his driving problems could overshadow his strengths. Will the ever-so-competitive Justin Thomas overcome this issue at the second men’s major? We will see.
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