ESPN broadcaster Jay Bilas says these 4 players are his favorite Tour pros

Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas has a large legion of fans — including ESPN broadcaster Jay Bilas.

Getty Images

ESPN broadcasters: They’re just like us!

Jay Bilas, a longtime college basketball analyst for ESPN, is also an avid golfer.

He’s a 5-handicap at his home club, Charlotte Country Club, and, like many of those who watch him on TV, he’s also a big fan of the pro game.

Jay Bilas on the pregame show
Pro basketball to broadcasting: Jay Bilas talks his triple threat of a career
By: Tyler Zimmer

On this week’s episode of Subpar, Bilas revealed his favorite players to hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz.

“Probably my favorite player is Justin Thomas. I love him and love his game,” Bilas said. “Huge Rory McIlroy fan. Big fan of Harold Varner, having met him. He practices sometimes at Charlotte Country Club. And I’ve gotten to know Webb Simpson a little bit, so I’m a huge fan of Webb.”

Like most golf fans, Bilas said he would also love to stand in Tiger Woods’ shoes for a day if he could.

“I’d like to be Tiger for a day and just be able to hit any shot I wanted,” Bilas said. “That would be kind of nice. I’ve done not being able to hit any shot I want and I would prefer the Tiger Woods thing.”

For more from Bilas, including how he started his broadcast career, and how he tries to incorporate as much golf into his life as he can, check out the full interview below.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.