Brooklyn, Mass. – Justin Thomas He didn’t play a single hole Monday during the US Open’s practice round at The Country Club, but that didn’t matter. There were still plenty of questions for him, mostly about the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which Thomas himself said had been the talk within the sport for the past few weeks.
“You can’t go anywhere without anyone mentioning it,” Thomas said. “It’s sad. This is the US Open, this is an incredible place, a place with so much history, incredible scope, so many storylines, and yet that seems to be the topic of all the questions. It’s unfortunate.”
However, Thomas was more than willing to answer questions about LIV and share his thoughts on the Saudi-backed golf league.
“Sincely selfishly, I don’t want anyone to leave,” Thomas said. “All I can do is stand up for my case. But everyone here is adults, they can make their own decisions.”
The world number 5 ranked player said he was not surprised by the players leaving for Liv, especially Phil Mickelson And the Bryson DeShampoobut was saddened by the fact that players’ decisions to leave could hurt the PGA Tour.
“They were talking about it not just to a lot of their peers but to other people,” Thomas said. “It’s astronomical money that they spend on people. Everyone has a price for everything.”
The round suspended 17 players who participated in last week’s inaugural LIV event. The USGA allowed these players to play in the US Open if they qualified or were granted an exemption. When asked how he expects major companies to be affected by the sport’s split, Thomas said he was conflicted.
“I just want to play against the best in the world and I want a chance to try and win the big trophies,” Thomas said. “With that being said, the best players in the world have to be here, but at the same time I don’t necessarily want the players to be able to do both.”
Thomas acknowledged that he could not control this decision and that the majors were in a difficult position going forward. And while the appearance of LIV could negatively affect the state of the PGA Tour, which Thomas said he’s always wanted to be a part of growing up, he reiterated that he tried to separate the decision from the person who makes it.
“You can disagree with the decision,” Thomas said. “You probably wish they had done something different.” “But for the people at home to say that Dustin Johnson Now he’s a bad person, it’s not fair. …I wish he hadn’t, and am a little sad about it? Yes, but that is what it is. You just have to move forward and make the most of what you have.”