'I STILL FEEL LIKE I SHOULD HAVE WON MORE THAN TWO MAJORS'

Ahead of his PGA Championship defence, Rolex testimonee Justin Thomas opens up about his high expectations, his relationship with Tiger and why he would happily trade careers with Jordan Spieth...

- MICHAEL CATLING

Justin Thomas is an hour late for our Zoom call, but he has a good excuse. He has just won perhaps the most exclusive tournament in golf, the Pro-Member at Seminole Golf Club in Florida. This year, 94 pros turned up, including 12 of the world’s top 20, and JT beat them all alongside his playing partner, Mike Walrath. Davis Love III once referred to it as the first Major of the year. No one seriously counts it as such, though Justin would probably like it if they did.

If there is one trait that has defined Thomas throughout his 20s, it is winning. He has claimed at least one title every year since 2015. They include two Majors, two World Golf Championships, the Players Championship and the FedEx Cup.

He knows he should be happy. Instead, he is at odds with himself, conflicted by greed and his own ambitions. Those closest to him will tell you that it has been that way ever since he was kid, trying to live up to the standards set by his father, Mike, and his grandfather, Paul, before him. Both were talented players in their own right.

Paul played in the 1962 US Open, while Mike was the head pro at Harmony Landing Country Club in Kentucky for more than 30 years. Justin was barely two when Mike gave him a cut-down driver, a persimmon MacGregor. He’s been his coach ever since and jokes that the first words out of his son’s mouth were “bag of balls”.