Justin Thomas is understood to joke round together with his enjoying companions and buddies, as he demonstrated throughout final month’s repeat of The Match, the place the floodgates had been open for trash discuss and jabs. However in the course of the Sentry Event of Champions press convention on Wednesday, the reigning PGA champion confirmed he can poke enjoyable on the media in the identical approach.
Talking from the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Thomas was requested concerning the subsequent leg of the swing in Hawaii: the Sony Open. Though Thomas won’t be enjoying in Honolulu this yr, one journalist puzzled if Thomas had seen a clip of Hideki Matsuyama’s unimaginable three-wood swing throughout final yr’s match.
Matsuyama hit the shot broad open throughout a sudden-death playoff. Watching the sundown, the previous Masters champion drove his wooden from 277 yards to simply Three ft and gained the golf match.
The spectacular shot acquired a particular honor on the finish of the golf season from veteran golf journalist Doug Ferguson. Yearly, the Related Press author compiles an inventory of the very best pictures of the PGA Tour season, with all 14 golf equipment within the bag (greatest putter, lob wedge, 9-iron, and so forth.)
Matsuyama’s putt gained his class, nonetheless, one other Three-wood was listed because the runner-up. That Three-wood was Thomas’ tee shot on the drivable par-Four 17th at Southern Hills. The loopy clutch drive finally led him to victory on the PGA Championship.
It is unclear what number of professional golfers truly take note of what the media has to say, but it surely turned obvious that Thomas at the very least gave Ferguson’s annual rankings a learn when he answered Matsuyama’s query.
“I do know Doug thought it was the very best Three-wood he’d seen all season,” Thomas mentioned, holding again amusing. “He wrote about it, so. I do know he noticed that one…so.”
Thomas could not be capable of change Ferguson’s thoughts about giving up his main championship-winning shot, however at the very least he can name him out on it with different journalists.
Nonetheless smiling, Thomas lastly actually praised Matsuyam’s sudden-death swing from final yr’s Sony Open, however made positive to subtly reference his personal shot as he responded.
“It was unbelievable, particularly on the finish of the spherical when he could not see something,” Thomas mentioned. “I can not think about a significantly better or extra spectacular strategy to win and end a golf match and in addition make it look really easy from 270 or no matter it was. It was very Hideki-like, it was spectacular.”