Justin Thomas won the FedEx Cup Playoffs and its $10 million bonus last season, but he’s far from complacent.
Thomas, who begins his playoffs defense at this week’s Northern Trust, the first of four postseason stops, met with the media on Wednesday at Ridgewood in Paramus, N.J. He covered several topics, although said he’s “still pretty mad” he didn’t win the Tour Championship — he was the runner-up behind Xander Schauffele — and that it “really ticked me off” when he barely missed qualifying for the Tour Championship as a rookie in 2015. Daniel Berger did qualify, and Thomas knew that helped Berger solidify Rookie-of-the-Year honors.
“So as you can see, I’m totally over it,” Thomas said, sarcastically.
As a follow-up, a reporter asked Thomas, “How far do you go back in your memory of stuff that really still annoys you after all these years?” Apparently Thomas still isn’t over another loss.
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“I totally choked the U.S. Kids when I was 8 years old,” Thomas said. “I shot 32, 30 — I shot 37 on the second round. I’m dead serious. I lost in a playoff. I lost — I got up-and-down on the first playoff hole then I lost on the second playoff hole. Made bogey.”
Thomas said he didn’t remember the exact name of the player who beat him. But he doubled down that he’s still irked.
“I’m serious. Look it up,” he said. “Jekyll Island. My dad was caddying for me. I choked it. I was so mad. … It’s dad’s fault.”
Thomas tees off alongside Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson for his opening two rounds on Thursday and Friday.
