PGA Tour star Justin Thomas currently ranks 27th on the tour's list of highest earners, an important clue as to his current financial status. Thomas grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, an upbringing that once included quality time on the golf course with NBA all-time great Michael Jordan. Financially speaking, Thomas utilized his golf skills to advance in life, even as a youngster.
Recently, Thomas shared the incredible story of how he hustled a few thousand dollars from ‘His Airness' on the golf course, which helped pay for one of the most important purchases of his young life at the time.
Thomas shared the story in advance of the Texas Children's Open, which included its fair share of exciting storylines in its own right. The news also came out during a time when Tiger Woods and Rory McIroy's new golf league was announced.
According to Thomas, Jordan gave him a nickname that has stuck with him over since his early days on the course, all part of a hilarious story that was told recently on late night host Stephen Colbert's show.
Thomas Recalls Hilarious Jordan Story
Justin Thomas is a two-time Major golf tournament champion who told Colbert that his dad used to be friends with Jordan during his younger days.
“(He) would always come to the Kentucky Derby, and I grew up in Louisville, Kentucky,” Thomas said. “He loves golf. He loved it then, still loves it now. He wanted to play golf when he was in town and he had a friend who he played in the NBA with, Junior Bridgeman, who was friends with my dad and put the connection together and he would come out and play dad's course,” he added.
“And I would just be lucky enough to be out there when he was playing.”
Justin Thomas was a caddy during his first two years for his father's high-profile group of associates. In year three, Jordan came to visit, invited Thomas to play, and gave him a new nickname.
“He used to always call me ‘little man,' Thomas recalled.
“Little man go get your clubs, you're going to play the last seven holes with us,” Thomas said to Colbert. “He knew that I played golf, but he didn't know that I was decent nobody else had any idea. So he goes, ‘I'll take little man for whoever wants us.”
Thomas' Historic Win on the Golf Course
Bridgeman, Michael Jordan, Justin Thomas and Thomas' father engaged each other in several different high-stakes golf matches, with Thomas ultimately getting the best of his competition on his way to to a milestone purchase that the young professional will never forget.
Thomas told Colbert that he made four birdies in seven holes and won “three or four grand,” which he said “help pay for (his) first car.” The 5-foot-10 University of Alabama alumnus about the intensity of international play with the United States Ryder Cup team, as well as his appearance in the Netflix documentary ‘Full Swing,' which can be viewed in the video below.
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