Justin Thomas opens up about joining elite list alongside Tiger Woods: "A lot of hard work, time and effort over the years"

Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods have been friends on and off the golf course for a long time. After Sunday's historic triumph for the former at the RBC Heritage, they're now listed on the same impressive list in golf history.

Before Sunday, just six golfers had won 16 times on the PGA Tour, including multiple Majors, before turning 32. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Woods, and Rory McIlroy made up the entire list. Now, Thomas is on that list, too. After breaking a nearly 60-game losing streak, he opened up on being added to that list on Dan on Golf with Dan Rapoport.

"It's great, obviously. I've been fortunate to be added to some of those lists in the past, and I definitely have not been on them the last couple of years because I haven't won. But it's great, I mean, it's a lot of hard work, a lot of time and effort over the years," Justin Thomas said. "But yeah, it's very special today." [04:00]

The win that ended his drought and cemented Thomas's name alongside some of golf's greatest competitors did not come easily, though. He had to go through a playoff with Andrew Novak. Thomas sank the winning putt on the first playoff hole, but it required a tense final round to break through.

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Justin Thomas reflects on career resurgence

Justin Thomas has dealt with some injuries and some frustrating losses over the last few years since he last won a tournament on the PGA Tour. Once considered one of the absolute best, he had fallen off.

Justin Thomas won the RBC Heritage (Image via Imagn)

Thomas was slowly working back to relevance, but he still hadn't won a tournament. Finally, he checked that off the list and can say he is fully back. He said after winning the Heritage on Sunday via ESPN:

"I think it was the last thing missing, if you will. It's hard to say, because obviously careers are so long and there's so much up and down and lots going on that you never know what point of your career you're at until it's over. At least for me, I felt like it was the last thing that I needed to do for my own well-being."

Thomas said he had forgotten how much he enjoyed winning, not realizing what was missing from his golf experiences since that last win. The previous win he had recorded was the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May 2022, a Major that seemed indicative of more wins to come that never materialized. He's gotten that elusive win now and could put together more good performances without that pressure.