The Young Gentleman of Golf

Justin Thomas, no longer a kid, has emerged as one of the PGA Tour's proven winners

- JEFF WILLIAMS

Justin Thomas with a cigar during some downtime from the course. Smoking cigars reminds him of his grandfather.

Justin Thomas took his seat in a private dining room at the TPC Sawgrass in late February, wearing a sharp blue golf shirt, crisp white golf slacks and casual white shoes. The defending champion of The Players Championship extended his hand for a shake and a genuine hello, his southern gentleman demeanor shining through.

It was a gorgeous day at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida, with amateurs tackling Pete Dye's infamous monster, a beast with a famously deadly island green par three that devours one golf ball after another. Thomas had conquered the course the previous March for his first Players Championship title, the 14th PGA Tour victory of his career. Now he was back at the scene of the win, and seemed right at home at the PGA Tour's home, and why wouldn't he? He definitely owns a piece of it right now, his picture in a row of champions in the lush clubhouse, his play catapulting him to the upper echelons of the game.

Thomas, 28, has come a long way since he first sat down with CIGAR AFICIONADO for an interview in 2017. The great promise of that 2016-17 Tour season-five victories including the 2017 PGA Championship and the Fedex Cup title-had come true years later, including a short spell as the world's No. 1. He has been consistently ranked as a Top 10 player since 2017, and his career earnings of $46 million make him No. 16 on the all-time list. All the success is reason enough to smoke a cigar now and then.