Tiger Woods is a man who knows how to win a major championship and specifically, around Valhalla, the venue for the PGA Championship next week.
Woods won the PGA back in 2000 at Valhalla and will return to the field next week as he bids to keep playing in the majors this year.
Of course, one man who also knows about winning the PGA is Justin Thomas.
Thomas won in 2017 at this weekend’s Wells Fargo venue of Quail Hollow before winning again in 2022 at Southern Hills. Since then, though, Thomas has struggled for form and that 2022 win was actually his last on the PGA Tour.
However, one thing that’s remained a constant over his career is a close friendship with Tiger Woods.
But despite that close relationship, Thomas has revealed that getting useful information from Woods is actually much harder than people would think.
Justin Thomas shares why Tiger Woods doesn’t make the best coach
Speaking to the media ahead of the opening round at Quail Hollow tomorrow, Thomas responded when asked about Tiger’s memorable 2000 year which saw him win three majors and then the 2001 Masters and if he’s picked the great man’s brains.
“I mean I’ve talked to him plenty about Valhalla. He always as soon as I bring it up he always jokes that I was still in diapers or something like that you know. And I always remind him he was one lip out away from Bob May of losing the PGA and not having the Tiger Slam but it’s…I haven’t really,” Thomas said.
“I’ve asked him plenty and talked to him plenty but it’s one of those things, I’ve asked him plenty of questions similar to that and you feel like you want to get a notebook out and write down everything he says, you think he’s going to give you this elaborate answer but I think you see that sometimes in coaching in sports. It’s almost like sometimes the best to ever do it are the worst at explaining how to do it. I’m sure to him it was very easy at the time. I’m sure if you talk to MJ [Michael Jordan] about how he won all those rings, he makes it sound pretty easy. I think Tiger’s similar to that in when he was doing it he was just so much better than everyone else and it seemed pretty easy at the time so I don’t really get anything out of him if I try to in that aspect.”
Justin Thomas can produce when it matters
A lot of top golfers have ups and downs in their careers and it does feel like Thomas has been in a bit of a slump since 2022.
However, the best players – the ones who win majors like Thomas – always have it in them to produce when it matters. An example of that sort of player is Brooks Koepka, who often goes under the radar but has five majors to his name.
For Thomas, while he’ll be focussing on the Wells Fargo this weekend, a third PGA title is something that will be firmly on his mind.
As for getting information off Tiger Woods, it’s interesting Thomas mentions that Woods was just so good he makes it sound easy.
There might be an element of tongue-in-cheek here as well, and it will be interesting to know if Woods has any sort of reply to that in the next few weeks.
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