Justin Thomas had a difficult start to 2021, but he managed to turn things around heading into the Masters. Although he was involved in a serious car accident less than two months ago, Tiger Woods was still able to help Thomas through his rough stretch.
Thomas sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Jeff Darlington prior to the Masters, and he opened up about some of the issues he has had over the last several months. Thomas spoke about what he learned in the wake of his use of a homophobic slur back in January. He also reflected on the emotions he felt when he learned before the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February that his grandfather, Paul Thomas, had died.
Then, there was Tiger’s accident. Thomas said he had planned to reach out to Woods for advice and encouragement just before he learned Tiger was in a serious car crash on Feb. 23. The two did eventually connect when Woods was feeling well enough, and Thomas says the 15-time major champion gave him some valuable advice.
As Justin Thomas was trying to find his way through a difficult few months, Tiger Woods gave him some simple advice that went a long way. An excerpt from our feature on JT, who tees off today at 1:48 pm EST: pic.twitter.com/wXOdAbs3IL
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 8, 2021
“What kind of hit home for me is, when things aren’t going well, he was like, ‘You need to go figure it out. No offense to your dad, no offense to your caddie, you need to go out by yourself. You’re a grown man. Go figure it out,'” Thomas says Tiger told him.
Thomas went on to win The Players Championship not long after that conversation. He spoke about the importance of his friendship with Woods after the tournament.
If you remember, Thomas was extremely emotional when he first discussed Tiger’s crash (video here). The two are obviously very close, and Tiger has had a big influence on Thomas’ career.
