Justin Thomas might have finished his week at The Player down the leaderboard but he’s still found time for some kind words about one of the players contending near the top.
With play suspended – at the time of publication – Thomas was in the clubhouse at two under par while Rory McIlroy leads at the top with a host of players chasing.
McIlroy’s four under has seen overtake JJ Spaun as leader but there are a number of players in the hunt should McIlroy slip up.
The likes of Tom Hoge, Akshay Bhatia and Corey Conners are well placed. Indeed, Hoge has very nearly finished and with strong winds coming, he might end up in a great position to win it at ten under.
However, according to Justin Thomas, it is another player within the chasing pack who he really wants to see win.
Justin Thomas says he’d love for Bud Cauley to win The Players
Bud Cauley is making a charge to put himself in a position to win on the PGA Tour for the first time and he’s just a few back of McIlroy at the top.
Cauley suffered a number of serious injuries in a horrendous car crash in 2018 and has to overcome numerous surgeries and setbacks to even get playing again.
Indeed, Cauley is yet to win a PGA Tour event in more than 200 attempts and for Justin Thomas, it would just top things off if his good friend won out in Florida.
“I mean, his game is — he’s such a good player. I think it would be a crime if he doesn’t win at some point in his career. He’s one of those kind of — he’s just got that much game,” Thomas commented.
“Obviously I think the world of him. He’s one of the funniest, best dudes I know. Man, he’s just been through a lot. He’s had a lot of injuries and just battled a lot of ups and downs and just craziness.
“I’m just happy to have him out here and playing and seeing him all the time again. I would love to see him finish strong here and then have a chance come the last hole or two.”
Thomas then admitted that as he’s not won, Cauley is the one he’d like to see come out as the eventual winner and conceded he’d do some ‘weird’ things to make it happen.
“Yeah, I would do some really, really weird things for Bud to win today,” Thomas continued. “Yeah, I probably wanted it too bad. I was telling Jill last night, I was like a nervous parent. I just want him to play well so bad, because I know how bad he wants it. And it’s a huge stage, it’s a big, big moment.
“There’s a lot of golf left, he hasn’t gotten off to the start he’s wanted, I’m sure, but he’s right there.”
What impresses Justin Thomas about Bud Cauley
Clearly, Thomas is a big fan of Cauley and has an admiration for him both as a person and a golfer.
Indeed, when asked in the same press conference about just what is so impressive about Cauley, Thomas couldn’t help but praise his resilience.
“I mean, just staying positive,” Thomas said. “Having optimism that you’re going to play again. I think he had, not a lot, but he definitely had some moments I would say where he was like, Okay, what next? What now? He saw so many different doctors, so many different PT’s, travelled anywhere and everywhere to get different opinions. Man, it’s hard to stay patient and believe that it’s all going to work out in the end.
“But I think that’s such a cool, unique thing about golf is, other sports, at his age, his career’s done. But he realistically could play competitively for another five or ten years, so I’m glad he stuck it out, for sure.”
With play set to restart in tough conditions, Cauley will know full well he needs a big effort to draw the leaders in but he could, in theory, be one of the stories of the week if he does win out.
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