Tiger Woods gives Justin Thomas grief over scary tee shot at Players

AUSTIN, Texas – Even from a hospital bed across the country, Tiger Woods was the predictable perfectionist.

“[Woods] told me that I toed my tee shot on 18 [at The Players Championship], which I didn’t. I hit it right in the middle, I just overturned it a little bit,” Justin Thomas said Monday from the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. “But he’s adamant that I toed it. But I made sure to remind him that I didn’t. It was right where I needed to be.”

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Woods’ critique came a day after Thomas won the PGA Tour’s flagship event and a day before Tiger traveled home to South Florida for the first time since he was involved in a single-vehicle crash in Los Angeles on Feb. 24. Woods underwent multiple surgeries for “significant orthopedic injuries.”

Woods spoke with Thomas on Monday before flying home.

“I got to FaceTime, talk with him a little bit after, because I knew he would want to chat and catch up and I knew he was going home the following day, so it was cool,” Thomas said. “He was in great spirits, was glad to hear how supportive, and my dad said he was texting him the whole [final round at TPC Sawgrass], giving him grief about what was going on, so it was good to see he was watching.”

Woods and Thomas are South Florida neighbors and have celebrated various victories together, including Thomas’ 2017 PGA Championship.