Justin Thomas made his way back into the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour in 2025, lifting the RBC Heritage title.
That victory ended a three-year spell without a win, and it also earned him a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
It came off the back of his selection for the 2023 Ryder Cup, which followed what was arguably the worst season of his career up to that point.
Zach Johnson gave him that pick, but it raised more eyebrows when Jim Furyk did not include him in the Presidents Cup side the following year. That was despite a clear improvement in his form over what he had shown previously.
This year, though, he made sure there were no doubts about his value to Team USA with how he performed at Bethpage Black.
Thomas has often looked a different player when wearing red, white and blue. He seems to thrive under those conditions in ways that others do not always manage.
Justin Thomas believes he understands why he missed out on Presidents Cup selection
Thomas is currently recovering from surgery and hoping to regain his top form once he is back to full fitness.
Looking ahead, he will be determined not to miss out on another Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup before calling time on his career.
During an appearance on the No Laying Up Podcast, Thomas was asked about being left out of the 2024 Presidents Cup team.
He said: “It was weird. Like, I didn’t have a good feeling about it, to be honest.
“I think it seemed like one of those, to me, like it had kind of been decided, but I had maybe a pretty good idea, you know, the couple weeks prior.
“It just had kind of a different vibe when I was around, either, like, the automatic qualifiers or maybe around captains or vice captains. It just didn’t give, like, the vibe of, like, you still have a chance kind of thing.
“I just had the feeling of we’ve already maybe decided, and you aren’t a part of that kind of thing.”
Thomas added: “And I think the biggest thing was the golf course. I think with the way it was, how they were gonna set it up, with the rough being really long, and the fairways being narrow and I wasn’t driving it particularly well, and I think that was a huge, huge part of it for them.
“How the stats guys get involved, and I feel like it was something … I probably didn’t think I was a good fit for the course, but I was still surprised, because, you know Rome, to get picked in that situation, and then feel like I earned it a little bit more.”
Justin Thomas reflects on why missing out on the 2024 Presidents Cup was a positive
Thomas offered an interesting perspective, suggesting that not playing in Montreal ended up being good for him in the long run.
“I mean, you could definitely make a lot of arguments that I didn’t earn Rome at all. Honestly, I wish I was on that team and happy I made Rome, but it was good for me, I think, to not get picked for that Presidents Cup,” he began by saying.
“I think either looking back, there’s almost a part of me that wished I didn’t get picked for Rome in a sense of, like, you’re not just gonna get this because you feel like you deserve it, you know what I mean?
“I think it was easy for me to go into Presidents Cup, like, well, if I got picked last year, I’ve played significantly better.
“I had a really good year, finished whatever in the FedEx, made it to The Tour Championship. I didn’t win, but I was in contention a lot, and so, I should get picked, and I didn’t.
“So it was kind of, it was easy to go back and forth on it, but internally, there’s a very small part of me that is glad I didn’t, because I don’t need to be going in these team events or whatever it is feeling like, well, you know, no matter what happens I’m going to get a pick still because of who I am, which, I’m not that kind of person kind of thing. I want to earn my way on the teams.”
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