Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy are two of the biggest names in golf and have shared a close friendship for many years, but that all goes out of the window during tournaments
Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy are close friends on the PGA Tour (Image: Getty)
Justin Thomas admitted he and Rory McIlroy briefly “hated each other” during the Ryder Cup despite their close friendship off the course. But the former world No. 1 balanced that by saying he would feel the same way even if he hypothetically faced his own wife in the competition.
The 32-year-old is an important player for Team USA and boasts an impressive Ryder Cup record of 7-4-2. That included overall victories in both 2018 and 2021.
Despite Thomas’ contributions, including half a point in the four-ball and a full point in the singles where he remains unbeaten, the 2023 Ryder Cup saw McIlroy and Team Europe triumph with a score of 16½ -11½.
The intensity and pressure of the Ryder Cup was such that Thomas even had to put his friendship with McIlroy on hold, confessing that he briefly felt animosity towards the Northern Irishman during their heated singles match in 2018, which saw McIlroy crumble under pressure and ultimately lose.
Speaking in 2023, Thomas revealed: “I would say I would just kind of channel the things that I feel because it’s nothing personal. Rory is a great example. I love Rory. We get along extremely well.
“He’s been a role model of mine. He was super nice to me when I was first starting up. He still is. We see each other a bunch. Yeah, we played each other in the Ryder Cup and, yeah, we hated each other for 18 holes.
Thomas and McIlroy put their friendship aside at the Ryder Cup(Image: Getty)
“Again, it’s nothing personal. It’s not a dislike as a person.” In a surprising twist, Thomas even claimed that if his wife, Jill, were hypothetically on the opposing side, she’d be his enemy too.
He added: “My wife knows; if Jill teed it up in the Ryder Cup for the other team, I’m going to try to beat her pretty bad.”
The first two rounds of the 153rd Open Championship this week saw Thomas and McIlroy grouped together at Royal Portrush. Despite his recent struggles at majors, Thomas managed to make the cut, finishing one under par on Friday.
Heading into Sunday’s final round, Thomas was tied for 29th, while McIlroy’s impressive surge took him up to T4. In April, Thomas celebrated his first PGA Tour victory in three years at the RBC Heritage, while McIlroy achieved the career Grand Slam in the same month by finally securing his first Masters win.
