Justin Thomas reacted to the PGA Tour’s throwback video from the Hero World Challenge when Tiger Woods outdrove him. Woods and Thomas are good friends and often make headlines for their hilarious jokes and playful pranks during their matches.
Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas (Image Source: Imagn)
As the 2024 Hero World Challenge is nearing, the PGA Tour recently posted a video from the past when Tiger Woods outdrove Thomas and then checked the ball mark to make sure that the 2022 PGA Championship winner knew that he had played better than him.
Tiger walked to Thomas to check the ball mark, searching for it and then moved ahead while Thomas stood there smiling. Justin Thomas reshared the reel on his Instagram story, reacting to it. He wrote:
“Tiger Woods got a big bounce. Mine spun back. Whatever.”
Still from Justin Thomas’ Instagram story/@justinthomas34)
Justin Thomas is gearing up to compete at this week’s Hero World Challenge. He will be playing in the limited field of 20 players, while Woods, who was expected to join the field, confirmed last month that he would only be fulfilling his hosting duties and not playing in the event. He shared the news on his X (formerly Twitter) account, writing:
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host and spending the week with @HeroMotoCorp . Excited to welcome our exemptions @JustinThomas34 , @JDayGolf and @NickDunlap62 into the field.”
The 2024 Hero World Challenge will be held from December 5 to December 8 in Albany.
When Tiger Woods handed a tampon to Justin Thomas after outdriving him
Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas were embroiled in a controversy last year during the 2024 Genesis Invitational. In the first round of the PGA Tour event held in February 2023, Tiger Woods, despite struggling with injuries, played a solid game and outdrove the fellow American golfer on the ninth hole.
Things took a turn after the 15-time Major winner tried a playful prank on Thomas. He passed a tampon to Thomas after outdriving him while walking to take the next shot. Justin Thomas initially took the tampon, but he quickly threw it on the ground, and both laughed it off while walking on the greens.
However, the incident brought a lot of criticism to Woods, and he later apologized while talking to the media. He said (Sky Sports):
“If I offended anybody, it was not the case, it was just friends having fun. As I said, if I offended anybody in any way, shape or form, I’m sorry. It was not intended to be that way. It was just, we play pranks on one another all the time and virally I think this did not come across that way, but between us it’s different.”
Meanwhile, fans anxiously wait for Tiger Woods to return to compete in official golf events. Although he is not playing at the 2024 Hero World Challenge, he is expected to compete at the PNC Championship later this month.