One of the best things for golf fans to see as Tiger Woods’ career has progressed has been the way that he seems to have become much more of a mentor to many of the PGA Tour players he has inspired over the years.
Tiger Woods was perhaps unlike any competitor the game has ever seen. And one of the ways the 15-time major champion would intimidate his rivals was by keeping them at arm’s lengths. Geoff Ogilvy noted how Woods would change on the weekends at tournaments, almost refusing to speak to anyone else but his caddie.
But Woods has shown a different side over the last decade. And one of the players he appears to have the closest relationship with is Justin Thomas.
The pair played together at the 2019 Presidents Cup – where Woods was a playing-captain. And they have shared their fair share of jokes on the course over the years.
How Tiger Woods helped Justin Thomas prepare for the Masters one year
In fact, Woods has been prepared to help Thomas out on a few occasions, including ahead of the Masters.
Speaking on Subpar in 2020, Thomas shared how Woods went out of his way to help him ahead of the 2017 Masters, with the 49-year-old set to withdraw due to a back injury.
But he added how Woods’ tone changed drastically one year later when he was set to be in the field.
“The first time I went over to his house was two or three years ago, I think maybe three years ago because he didn’t play the Masters that year and he hadn’t announced it and he wasn’t going to announce it until a couple of days prior,” he said.
“So he’s like, ‘why don’t you come over, we’ll chip and putt’. First day I went over, I’m like, ‘how you feeling?’. He’s like, ‘alright’. ‘You think you’re going to play next week?’ He’s like, ‘I’m not going to play. I haven’t told anybody so don’t say anything’. I’m like, ‘yeah, for sure’. And so, he’s just teaching me so many shots around the greens and what holes I’m going to use it on and how to hit different bunker shots and why I can’t do this and why I can’t do that. And I was like, man, that was unbelievable.
“And then the next year, I was like, ‘hey, let me know if you want to do some short game work this week. I’m around’. He’s like, ‘I’m playing this year’. I was like, ‘yeah I know, but let me know if you want to practice’. He’s like, ‘see you at Augusta’.”
How Woods and Thomas have performed at the Masters since 2017
Of course, Woods would go on to prove that there was still plenty left in the tank. While the 2018 Masters was not his best – he finished in a tie for 32nd – he would go on to win The Tour Championship later that year. Few will forget those scenes as he came down 18 at East Lake on Sunday.
And within a few months, he had his fifth green jacket after winning the 2019 Masters. So he will perhaps feel vindicated that he was not prepared to run through all of his secrets with Thomas in 2018.
Thomas meanwhile, went on a fantastic run between 2017 and 2022 where his worst finish was a tie for 22nd. He would finish fourth in 2020 and register another top 10 in 2022. But he is now looking to bounce back from two missed cuts in a row at Augusta.
Unfortunately for Thomas, golf fans will be hoping that there is no invitation to Woods’ house this year.
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