Thomas is left counting the cost of his slur
Clothing company, Ralph Lauren, has terminated its sponsorship of Justin Thomas following the American’s homophobic slur during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Thomas, the World No. 3, was heard using the derogatory word towards himself after missing a par putt on the fourth hole at Kapalua last weekend.
The 27-year-old later apolgised for the remark. He told the Golf Channel: “There’s just no excuse. I’m an adult, I’m a grown man.
“There’s absolutely no reason for me to say anything like that. It’s terrible. I’m extremely embarrassed.”
But Ralph Lauren are unmoved, and have announced it had severed ties with the golfer.
In a statement, the American clothing brand said: “We are disheartened by Mr Thomas’s recent language, which is entirely inconsistent with our values.
“While we acknowledge that he has apologised, and recognises the severity of his words, he is a paid ambassador of our brand, and his actions conflict with the inclusive culture that we strive to uphold.
“In reflecting on the responsibility we have to all of our stakeholders, we have decided to discontinue our sponsorship of Mr Thomas at this time.”
Thomas is expected to also be fined for by the PGA Tour for the incident.
The Kentuckian, whose worth has been estimated at around £30million, reportedly earns around £1.5m a year from endorsements.
The PGA Tour added: “As he expressed after his round, we agree that Justin’s comment was unacceptable.”
In March last year, PGA Tour player, Scott Piercy, was dropped by a number of his sponsors – including Titleist and Footjoy – after sharing a homophobic meme on Instagram about former South Bend mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Pete Buttigieg.
The opening World Golf Championship tournament of the year has been moved from Mexico to Florida following “logistical challenges” presented by Covid-19.
The Mexico Championship had been due to take place at the Chapultepec Golf Club just outside Mexico City, between February 25 and February 28.
But organisers said the tournament will now be switched to The Concession Golf Club, amid concerns over travel between the United States and Mexico.
It is hoped the tournament will return to Mexico in 2022.
There was a disappointing start to 2021 for Scotland’s Russell Knox, after he missed the halfway cut at The Sony Open in Hawaii.
The Inverness native opened with two rounds of level-par 70 to miss out by four shots of getting into last night’s third round.