McIlroy’s partner in LIV battle admits he “hated” him during Ryder Cup battle
Justin Thomas admits he gets so revved up by the Ryder Cup he “hated” his pal Rory McIlroy for 18 holes - and he would even be desperate to beat his own wife if she played for Europe.
US skipper Zach Johnson called the former world No.1 the “heart and soul of American teams” and the “emotional leader” after naming Thomas as a wildcard. The pick attracted controversy with the two-time Major champion struggling with his game this summer and shooting 81 at the US Open and an 82 at the Open.
But the world No.24 yesterday showed the pride and passion which makes him America’s version of Ian Poulter when talking about channelling his emotion at the Ryder Cup - even against his friends for the other 51 weeks of the year. Thomas, who twice beat McIlroy in Paris, said: “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. We played each other in the Ryder Cup and, yeah, we hated each other for 18 holes. It’s nothing personal. It's not a dislike as a person. It's just 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.
“There's nothing personally that I dislike about any of those guys on the team. But of course, when you're playing them, you want to win the match.” Thomas admitted he was “very, very fortunate” to be picked last month but captain Johnson insisted yesterday: “We look at it both statistically and subjectively.”
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The 30-year-old, who won 6.5 points out of nine, has been picked because of his Ryder Cup record on and off the course. “I think he's kind of turned into a backbone for the USA Ryder Cup Team,” said his friend and likely playing partner Jordan Spieth.
That did not stop a storm of criticism on social media after his selection. “When it comes to people and stuff online, everybody's got an opinion and theirs is right and everybody else's is wrong,” he said. “So for that exact reason, I stayed away from social media and stayed away from stuff online because I knew nothing good was going to come from it.”
Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Sir Nick Faldo claimed picking Thomas is a “risk” in the pressurised environment of the Ryder Cup. Thomas recorded his first top-five finish since February when he returned to the PGA Tour at the Fortinet Championships earlier this month.
And the American said: “I clearly am in a lot better place than I was in certain times in the summer. But more than anything, I'm just in a good head space, and, for me, that's what's most important.”
Thomas was the USA’s top points scorer in his only previous away Ryder Cup in 2018 but could not stop a crushing European win. “For sure watching the team celebrate in front of you was the worst part,” he recalled. “Watching the joy, the champagne, everybody cheering, like yeah, it's not fun to be on the other side. I would prefer to not be there again.”
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