Subscribe
Follow Us
PGA Tour veteran and two-time major champion Justin Thomas is in Southern California for this week's American Express. On the eve of the tournament teeing off, Thomas spoke to the media and addressed various topics. He was asked his thoughts on the three-course setup at The American Express and his 2025 PGA Tour season goals. But it was his response to watching the TGL and, specifically, Tiger Woods's debut that had the press room rolling with laughter.
Thomas and his Atlanta Drive GC team will play the New York Golf Club in the third installment of the TGL next week. NYGC got their teeth kicked in during the TGL debut two weeks ago. So, Thomas was asked if he had learned anything over the first two weeks of the new, virtual golf league.
“There's definitely some things I've learned. I'm not going to share 'em until we play, for sure. No, I've been pleasantly surprised,” Thomas said. “I think all of us went into this like I don't know how it's going to be, this is totally different… The coolest thing for me is and I mean, I'm sure [you] can relate to this, but I just, I cannot ever, I can't think of a time where I've seen six golfers have that much fun.”
Then Thomas dropped a comical bomb on Woods.
“When is the last time you saw Tiger just getting his ass kicked that bad and was smiling that much? I mean, obviously, it wouldn't happen if he was playing this week, but there's something to be said for that, right?”
Indeed, Tiger Woods, Kevin Kisner, and Max Homa got throttled Tuesday night, 12-1. The Los Angeles Golf Club featuring Collin Morikawa, Justin Rose, and Sahith Theegala jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Yet, as Thomas said, the competitive edge from Woods and everyone is a bit different.
“I understand it's competitive, and we're competitive and we all want to win, but at the same time like it's different. It's a simulator golf league like this isn't the realest thing in the world. But I've been pleasantly surprised and I really enjoyed how much fun those guys look like they're having.”
The TGL is already experiencing some level of success in the ratings. They earned approximately a million viewers each of the first two weeks, with Tiger's debut hitting the high-water mark for any sporting event on cable. Whether it can sustain that momentum is yet to be determined.
