Why Justin Thomas feels ‘weird’ on verge of surprising career-first at Hero

Heading into the final round of the Hero World Challenge, Justin Thomas is unexpectedly on the precipice of a comeback win. But there is one factor complicating his emotions with just 18 holes to go.

Thomas fired a six-under 66 in Saturday’s third round at Albany to pass World No.1 Scottie Scheffler and take the lead. If he holds on to win, it would be his first victory in over two years, dating back to the 2022 PGA Championship.

Even though the Hero isn’t an official PGA Tour event, the win would represent a major comeback for the star who has struggled on the course for years, and it would be a great sign of things to come in 2025.

News

But a few weeks ago, something even bigger happened in Thomas’ life: he became a father for the first time.

Thomas and wife Jillian welcomed their daughter Molly into the world in mid-November, making this the first time Thomas has played a tournament as a dad. It’s also the first time he’s been away from his wife and daughter for a significant amount of time since the birth.

Given that reality, he has some mixed feelings spinning inside his head this week, describing the push-and-pull between missing his family and trying to win a tournament as a “weird combination” in his press conference Saturday evening.

“There’s been a lot of things that crossed my mind, but trying to play as well as I can and miss my girls at home, yeah, it’s a weird — it’s a weird combination,” Thomas explained. “Obviously never experienced it before, but I’m excited to have a chance to win tomorrow and also get home to see them tomorrow.”

Thomas also revealed that should he win on Sunday, it would mark a surprising career-first for the Tour veteran: the first time his friend Tiger Woods has handed him a trophy.

News

“That would be great,” Thomas said of the chance Tiger will present him with the Hero hardware. “I’ve had a couple opportunities in the past, but it’s definitely something I’d love to check off my box in my career at some point.”

This week Thomas has shown undeniable improvement from earlier this season. He switched to a longer 46-inch driver shaft and claims to have gained 15 yards off the tee as a result. Win or lose, he acknowledged Saturday that the progress he’s been working hard to see is finally coming to fruition.

“I’ve been progressing nicely, been working on all the right things. Feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s all I can do,” Thomas said. “I can’t control everybody else or what’s going on, I’ve just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it’s enough come Sunday.”

No matter what happens on Sunday, one thing is for sure: by day’s end Thomas will be back home with his wife and newborn daughter, which by the sound of it is reward enough.