Thomas affirms youth movement
He’s latest 20-something major champ
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth have been friends and rivals since childhood, two 24-year-olds who first faced each other in junior golf, then in college and now on the professional circuits around the world.
While Spieth crashed the PGA Tour in spectacular fashion, especially during his historic 2015 when he won two majors and the FedExCup, Thomas needed a bit longer to achieve success against the world’s best.
Thomas broke through for his first PGA Tour title in the fall of 2015 but remained far removed from the spotlight on Spieth. Then Thomas went on a blitz of his own, winning last fall and twice more to start the year in Hawaii. But Spieth eclipsed him again, adding three wins to his résumé, including his third major championship in the British Open.
Heading into the 99th PGA Championship, the hype was once more about Spieth, who had a chance to become the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam with a victory at Quail Hollow.
Thomas, always effusive in his praise of Spieth, wasn’t really on the radar as he began preparing for the last major of the season. But with a thrilling two-shot victory capped by a superb final round, Thomas is a major champion and no longer standing in the shadow long cast by Spieth.
“Frustration probably isn’t the right word. Jealousy definitely is,” Thomas said with a laugh Sunday as he sat by the Wanamaker Trophy and spoke about his thoughts of Spieth’s immediate success as a pro. He went on to admit he was jealous of Sergio Garcia when he won the Masters, of Brooks Koepka when he won the U.S. Open and of Spieth when he won the British Open.
“I wanted to be doing that, and I wasn’t,” Thomas said. “There’s only four of them in a year, and to be one of them, a major champion, is really cool.”
One of the first to greet Thomas as he walked off the
18th green was Spieth. Also there was Rickie Fowler, 28, who made a gallant run at winning his first major. Thomas’ housemate, Bud Cauley, 27, a fellow PGA Tour winner, also was there with a hug.
“It’s awesome, and I think they know I would do the same for them. It’s a cool little friendship we have,” Thomas said. “I think that kind of shows where the game is right now, where all of us are. Obviously we all want to win. We want to beat the other person.
“But if we can’t win, we at least want to enjoy it with our friends. I think that we’ll all be able to enjoy this together, and I know it’s going to make them hungrier, just like it did me.”
A record nine players under
25 have won on the Tour this season. The last three major winners are under 30: Koepka,
27, Spieth and Thomas.
The picture of 20-somethings includes Hideki Matsuyama, 25, who was paired with Thomas in the final round as he tried to become the first man from Japan to win a major. His tie for fifth with Fowler was his seventh
top-10 in a major.
Patrick Reed, 27, earned his first top-10 in a major with a tie for second.
And let’s not forget that Rory McIlroy is 28 and 2015 PGA champ Jason Day is 29.
“It’s a pretty good roll we’re on,” Thomas said of the youth movement.
It could be a long roll, too.