Justin Thomas has struggled for form in recent years after winning the PGA Championship in 2017, with the American admitting he was ‘jealous’ of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy will be eyeing another major success(Image: Getty Images)
Justin Thomas has confessed to feeling “jealous” as he watches fellow golfers Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler take the sport by storm.
Despite his own success, including clinching the PGA Championship in 2017 and being hailed as a potential dominant force, Thomas has found himself battling to regain top form after a dry spell that ended with a victory at the RBC Heritage.
The win was an emotional one for Thomas, who was visibly moved during a post-round interview with Amanda Balionis. However, his recent performance at the Truist Championship was marred by what Jim Nantz called a “shocking” error, although a mistake from Shane Lowry ultimately handed Thomas an additional $400,000 windfall, prompting a response from the golfer.
With his caddie from the RBC Heritage win already working for another player on the PGA Tour, Thomas revealed before the season’s second major that the triumphs of his peers, like Scheffler’s impressive 2024 season and McIlroy’s pursuit of a career grand slam, spur him on. When questioned about whether he is driven by “fueled by competitive jealousy” Thomas didn’t shy away from admitting: “A lot.
“I just remember that a lot from my first couple years on Tour and Jordan (Spieth) having a lot of success and playing well. It is, over the course of your career, you’re obviously – it’s not like, you know, when you’re in college and someone turns pro early and they’re winning Tour events and you’re like, I’ve beaten him before, that kind of thing. We all obviously beat each other quite often.”, reports the Mirror US.
“But I have a lot of faith and a lot of ability – or trust in my ability and feel like I can – I have confidence in I feel like what I can do.”
“I told Jill (his wife), after watching the Masters, it was like, of course – obviously I knew I always wanted to win the Grand Slam, wanted to win all the majors. But for some reason watching somebody do it firsthand, it reminded me almost of, damn, I forgot, I really do want to do that. It’s weird.
Justin Thomas admits feeling ‘jealous’ of Rory McIlroy(Image: Getty Images)
“It’s something I think all of us – some certain people maybe hit us different ways in terms of jealousy or drive or whatever you want to call it.
“Yeah, any time someone wins that isn’t me, if it’s a friend, I’m obviously happy for them, but there’s always going to be a part of me that’s jealous and wishes it was me. I think you’d be crazy to say otherwise.”
