If there’s anything Justin Thomas loves more than golf it’s his Alabama Crimson Tide football team.
So the defending Players champion was obviously surprised and delighted on Wednesday when he had a playing partner waiting for him at the 17th tee of the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass — Alabama coach Nick Saban.
The two have been close since Thomas played golf at Alabama and Saban has gotten a few impromptu lessons from the 14-time PGA Tour winner, who came from behind last year with a closing 68 to win The Players at 14-under-par 274.
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Saban played the 17th and 18th holes with Thomas, the highlight of a day when he filmed promotional videos for the Tour and its social media team and got a chance to tour the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse and locker room that has been decorated with photos, the scorecard and the pin flag commemorating his victory in which Thomas came from one shot over the cut line with nine holes to play in the second round, then shot 64-68 on the weekend.
Thomas stepped on the gas with three 3s to start the back nine — birdies at Nos. 10 and 12, wrapped around an eagle at No. 11.
That gave him a two-stroke lead and he held on at the end, skirting the water on the left edge of No. 18 for one breathless moment before the ball stayed up.
“It’s great,” he said when asked about the conditioning of the Stadium Course. “This place is always immaculate for the tournament. [The agronomy staff] does a great job of shutting it down at the right time and getting it in good shape. It’s still as beautiful and challenging as ever.”
Thomas said last year’s tournament finally followed a formula he’s been wrestling with over 72 holes since his first Players in 2015 when he had a third-round 65 but a closing 75 to tie for 24th.
He had one other 65, a 66 and two 68s in the past, but failed to put four good rounds together until he opened 71-71 last year, when shot 12 under on the weekend.
“I’ve been fortunate to have some good rounds and some success here … I’ve come close,” he said. “I’ve always felt comfortable around here. It’s a place I can get it around pretty well. If I can turn 71s and 72s into 69s and 70s, then sprinkle in a 64 or 65, all of a sudden I’m going from 15th or 20th to a chance to win. I love this place. I really do.”
Thomas addressed the recent issues with Phil Mickelson attempting to lead a breakaway to the Saudi Golf League, which now appears dead in the water after almost every top-20 players — including Thomas — coming out against it.
Thomas, who is off until The Players March 10-13, said he hopes the week can be all about the golf and seemed to strike a conciliatory tone with Mickelson, who announced on Tuesday that he is taking time off from the game and apologized for divisive comments he made about the PGA Tour and commissioner Jay Monahan.
“Some people are more wrapped up in it than others,” he said. “At the end of the day everybody has the right to their own opinion and what they want to do and what they feel is best for them. Some of us have different opinions and a lot of it for me is understanding that I can disagree with people all I want but I can’t get mad at the way someone feels. I think it’s going to continue to get better. At the end of the day you never know what’s going to happen but all of us are going to be here at The Players excited to tee it up.”
Thomas also had praise for the breaking news that Zach Johnson would be the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2023 in Italy.
“I think he’s going to be an amazing captain,” Thomas said. “I hope I have the opportunity to play for him. It’s a year-and-a-half [until the Ryder Cup] and a lot of Americans are very capable of playing their way onto the team. I’m going to have to earn it but I look forward to him being the captain.”
News also came out earlier in the week that Thomas will collaborate with Jack Nicklaus to design the Panther National Golf Course in Palm Beach County. The residential community course will include a training facility, a nine-hole par-3 course and a short game area.
Thomas said his favored designs lean towards “the old school.”
“My favorite holes are the short ones made more difficult with severe greens or rough or fairway pitching,” he said.
But Thomas said he will be mostly watching and learning from Nicklaus.
“I’m far from designing my own course,” he said. “I’m definitely in the learning phase. When the time is right, if and when I can design my own course, I’ll be excited for it but for now, I’m pretty excited to watch Picasso paint.”
Thomas was asked if there was any hole on the Stadium Course that he would tweak as a designer.
“No,” he said. “Last year I liked all 18 of them.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Justin Thomas returns to Stadium Course and gets a surprise visit