Justin Thomas is making his first PGA Tour start since the Masters this week at the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, but it was a telephone call halfway around the world that made headlines on Wednesday.
Speaking as part of his commitment to Scottish Open the week before the Open Championship, Thomas was asked about the recently-released GolfDigest.com USGA Confidential piece that featured anonymous Tour pros and major champions on their unfiltered thoughts about the United States Golf Association.
Pros Sound Off On USGA Ahead Of US Open
Thomas, who has had his fair share of things to say about the USGA, noted that he was not one of the 15 pros who said they considered skipping the U.S. Open in recent years, but expanded on the thought process he and others have when it comes to the governing body.
“It’s pretty obvious on where I stand with the U.S Open and the USGA,” Thomas said. “We’ve had our difficulties over the last six months. My frustration with them and the setup at the U.S. Open stems from how the PGA Tour does such a great job setting up tournaments the entire year. We feel like the U.S. Open gets away from us, or gets out of hand almost every year.”
Justin Thomas remains upset with the USGA, hopes players will keep calling out the governing body – Golf Digest https://t.co/8KaHXqyRDW
— John Huggan (@johnhuggan) May 28, 2019
Thomas called out the USGA earlier this year for the rule modifications, which he described as “terrible” at the Honda Classic.
“There’s no reason for me to sit up here and tell you guys that I think the rules of golf, the changes are great, because I don’t, I think they’re terrible,” he said in February. “So why would I say that? I think anything you can do that’s going to change the game positively or have a good impact on something, then there’s no reason to feel like you need to hold back.”
Thomas Defends Koepka, Blasts New Rules
Thomas echoed those sentiments on Wednesday saying he feels it’s important that pros continue to speak their mind.
“The last couple of years or so it has been good for the game when guys have been a little bit more outspoken and honest,” he said. “But we never want to come off as bratty. At the end of the day, this is what we do and we want to make sure it’s as good as possible and fair. Sometimes it’s hard for other people to understand that. But we are getting to the point where, if stuff gets out of control, we don’t feel like we have to hold back anymore. We can say how we feel.
“I think there’s a very fine line on guys saying stuff, because you don’t want to be disrespectful. That’s not the point of it, but you also need to realize, there’s nothing wrong with saying what’s on your mind. But it’s hard nowadays, as you know. You just feel like you can’t win.”
