Justin Thomas threw a fit during the third round of Saturday’s US Open after hitting a bad shot on the fourth hole at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Thomas got some bad luck when his drive down the fairway on the difficult fourth hole happened to land right in front of a drain. Thomas requested relief but was asked whether the position of the ball would interfere with his swing. The World No. 5 golfer answered honestly and said no, so he was not granted relief. He then chunked his iron and had a tantrum.
Beware, the video contains profanity.
Justin Thomas absolutely livid ooo pic.twitter.com/dWBorCsDKk
— 𝘔𝘰𝘺𝘨𝘴 (@Moygs96x) June 18, 2022
“That’s what pissed me off,” Thomas began. “Because so many other people would lie about being able to hit that. But it’s just like, I’m not going to hit it. I’m just trying to be a good f—ing person. F—ing bulls—, man.”
Thomas ended up bogeying the hole, which helps explain his frustration.
Here is the video that shows Thomas’ stance and shot:
The Country Club at Brookline is proving to be a frustrating course. #USOpen
📺: @NBC & @PeacockTV pic.twitter.com/mNUqARLH1W
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) June 18, 2022
The USGA issued a statement regarding the decision not to give Thomas a drop.
“On the fourth hole, Justin Thomas’ ball came to rest near a drain in the fairway. Justin requested a ruling from a nearby referee. During the discussion, Justin was asked if the drain was going to interfere with his swing, to which he replied it was not. Because there was no interference from the drain, Justin was not provided relief. Rule 16.1a(1) states that interference from an immovable obstruction exists when the ball touches or is in or on the obstruction, or the obstruction physically interferes with the player’s area of intended stance or area of intended swing. The Rule goes on to state that if the obstruction is close enough to distract the player but does not otherwise interfere, there is no relief under the Rule.”
Thomas was trying to play the honorable way, but he kind of ruined that goodwill with his rant afterwards. If he knew his swing would be severely impacted by the drain, he should have said yes. And if he was answering honestly by saying no, then he should suck it up and live with the results rather than whine about it.
