Justin Thomas, fresh off winning last month’s PGA Championship at Southern Hills, is a lifelong Red Sox fan, and as he expressed to reporters ahead of this week’s U.S. Open in Boston, he has the battle scars to prove it. As a child, Thomas recalls going to a Red Sox/Yankees game at Yankee Stadium, where he made the rookie mistake of wearing a Nomar Garciaparra jersey.
“I remember because I had my Nomar jersey on and was getting yelled at and cussed at and given the finger and I was nine years old,” said Thomas, learning his lesson the hard way. “That was my first introduction to the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry.
Thomas was born and raised in Louisville, but grew up a Boston fan because of his uncle, who routinely sent him Red Sox gear for Christmas and birthdays. “I had a Nomar. I had a Manny [Ramirez],” said Thomas, recalling his childhood jersey collection. “I think I even had a [Jason] Varitek one.”
Thomas scored a signature victory at TPC Boston in 2017, winning the Dell Technologies Championship by three strokes over runner-up Jordan Spieth. When Thomas returned the following year, he was honored at Fenway Park, throwing out the first pitch before a Marlins/Red Sox game.
Thomas’ Twitter and Instagram handles both use the No. 34, an obvious nod to Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, whose Hall-of-Fame induction ceremony will be held in Cooperstown next month. The 29-year-old also confirmed “Ortiz” in his email address.
Ranked fifth in the world and third in this year’s FedEx Cup standings, Thomas will begin his opening round Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, teeing off with Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland at 1:14 PM ET.
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