March 6, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Justin Thomas hits his first tee shot during the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Image Justin Thomas says there is “no scenario” in which his return from a six-month absence after back surgery could be an excuse for his poor play and high scores.
Thomas, one year removed from tying the TPC Sawgrass course record, returns to the Players Championship this week following a last-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Thomas, making his first start since undergoing a microdiscectomy in November, finished with a 79 at Bay Hill, missing the weekend by 12 shots.
He changed his game plans for the weekend, including “decompressing” on Saturday before playing TPC Sawgrass with Sam Burns on Sunday.
“It took me a little bit. I was really, really depressed and in a bad mood on Friday,” Thomas said on Monday ahead of this week’s Players. “I never expected the unbelievable, but there’s no scenario where I feel like I’m OK with it and it’s OK to shoot that poorly and put up that kind of score.
“I needed some time to relax and think about it and almost regroup.”
Thomas admitted returning from two of the most difficult events on the Tour was not ideal. He consulted with fellow pros who have gone through similar procedures, and they all shared the sentiment that no one was too patient to return to competition.
So while Thomas played a round of golf in February, he avoided the temptation to return during the West Coast swing at events like the Genesis Invitational at one of his favorite courses on the Riviera. And he didn’t compete at the Cognizant Classic in South Florida two weeks ago. Because that meant playing for four straight weeks. Thomas said he has never had fun in his career, especially while returning from a long layoff.
He had no intention of skipping Bay Hill or The Players’ signature event, which was his biggest win outside of Thomas’ major five years ago. After TPC Sawgrass, it’s off to the Valspar Championship at Innisbrook, a course outside of Tampa where Thomas feels he has a good chance of winning every year.
“If I were to come back and score, there’s no scenario I could picture or be OK with in terms of how long I’ve been off or how long I haven’t played,” he said. “I’m never going to say it’s okay. I’ll still be a little more relaxed than usual.
“(Bay Hill) is honestly not a good enough event to come back.” Thomas added with a smile. “…It was just having that much time off. I was a little rusty in terms of my thought process and the way I normally plan during tournaments.”
Expectations for this week will likely be tempered by last week’s scores, but Thomas is focused on the big picture.
“I’m 32 years old, and if I do it the way I need to do it, I can play this sport competitively and really well for the next 10 to 15 years without a problem,” he said.
“If I struggle to recover from injury at the start of the year and win two majors this year, no one will remember that I just bowled 14 overs at Bay Hill, right?”
–Field level media
