"I actually felt pretty bad”: Justin Thomas confesses to “audibly laughing” at Scottie Scheffler’s bad shot due to neck injury

American professional golfer Justin Thomas is in Japan to compete in the PGA Tour's lone Asian event, the Zozo Championship. In what will be the sixth edition of the tournament, the Zozo Championship will be held at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club from October 24th to 27th.

Before the tournament, Thomas was part of a media interaction at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club. During this interaction, Thomas spoke about a time he made fun of Scottie Scheffler's follow-through at an event in which the World No. 1 golfer was dealing with a neck injury.

Justin Thomas said:

“[His neck injury] didn't really come up until our third hole on Friday,” Thomas recalls. “I just remember he hit this tee shot, and it was like the most absurd follow-through I've ever seen, and I was audibly laughing because I thought it was just one of his patented follow-throughs only to find out it was his neck and I actually felt pretty bad.”

The event Justin Thomas is speaking about is The Players Championship 2024. At the tournament, Thomas was grouped with Scheffler and Rickie Fowler. While Scheffler's follow-through might have drawn a burst of laughter from Thomas, it's important to note that the former ended up winning The Players Championship.

Not only did Scottie Scheffler win the tournament with an injured neck, but by winning it, he also became the first golfer in the tournament's 50-year history to defend the title, as Scheffler was also the winner of The Players Championship in 2023.

---

What time will Justin Thomas tee off in Round 1 of the 2024 Zozo Championship?

The 2024 Zozo Championship will feature 78 golfers including defending champion Collin Morikawa and 2024 Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele. At the event, Justin Thomas will be paired with Hideki Matsuyama and Si Woo Kim. The trio will tee off at 8:29 am.

Here is a detailed look at the pairings and tee off times for the 2024 Zozo Championship:

Tee No. 1:

• 7:45 AM: C.T. Pan, Max Greyserman, Takashi Ogiso
• 7:56 AM: Ben Griffin, Victor Perez, Ryosuke Kinoshita
• 8:07 AM: Luke List, Nico Echavarria, Adam Svensson
• 8:18 AM: Chad Ramey, Nick Taylor, Lee Hodges
• 8:29 AM: Charley Hoffman, Gary Woodland, Matt Kuchar
• 8:40 AM: Carson Young, Maverick McNealy, Ryo Ishikawa
• 8:51 AM: Eric Cole, Ben Silverman, Taisei Shimizu
• 9:02 AM: Doug Ghim, Chan Kim, Takumi Kanaya
• 9:13 AM: Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Min Woo Lee
• 9:24 AM: Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Will Zalatoris
• 9:35 AM: Jhonattan Vegas, Chris Gotterup, Kurt Kitayama
• 9:46 AM: Sam Stevens, S.H. Kim, Shugo Imahira

Tee No. 10:

• 7:45 AM: Ryo Hisatsune, Mac Meissner, Takahiro Hataji
• 7:56 AM: Joel Dahmen, Nate Lashley, Satoshi Kodaira
• 8:07 AM: Kevin Yu, K.H. Lee, Brendon Todd
• 8:18 AM: Max Homa, Sungjae Im, Kensei Hirata
• 8:29 AM: Hideki Matsuyama, Si Woo Kim, Justin Thomas
• 8:40 AM: Justin Lower, Ryan Fox, Naoyuki Kataoka
• 8:51 AM: Chandler Phillips, Sami Valimaki, Hiroshi Iwata
• 9:02 AM: Andrew Putnam, Beau Hossler, Yuto Katsuragawa
• 9:13 AM: Patrick Rodgers, Mark Hubbard, Ren Yonezawa
• 9:24 AM: Taylor Moore, J.J. Spaun, Tom Hoge
• 9:35 AM: Harry Hall, Seamus Power, Adam Schenk
• 9:46 AM: Andrew Novak, Ben Kohles, Yuta Sugiura
• 9:57 AM: Zac Blair, Patrick Fishburn, David Skinns