Justin Thomas recalls getting intimidated by Tiger Woods - "I'm playing for second"

Justin Thomas recently recalled being intimidated by Tiger Woods during his prime. The PGA Tour player talked about how watching Woods made him feel like he was "playing for second."

Thomas will compete at The Sentry this week. He has won the tournament twice in the past. In 2017, he won by three strokes over Hideki Matsuyama while in 2020, he won in the playoffs against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed.

In the pre-tournament press conference, Thomas was asked about the "intimidation level" Woods inspired among his opponents. The 31-year-old said (via ASAP Sports):

"Yeah, be like, I can't beat this guy, I'm playing for second, that kind of thing. I mean, he just does it so differently, but I think his demeanor, his demeanor I think could, it could be -- I shouldn't say -- obviously it wouldn't be easier than it was for Tiger, but it could be easy for people to kind of fear or it would be hard to play against him because how even keeled he is."

Thomas further appreciated Tiger Woods' approach to the game. He said that even though Woods showed emotions and got frustrated, he remained incredibly focused and avoided unnecessary distractions like crowd engagement.

When asked what Scottie Scheffler, who has been a dominant force in recent years, needed to do to be looked at by players the way Woods once was, Thomas joked:

"Keep breathing?"

Thomas is ranked fifth in the power rankings for the 2025 Sentry by the PGA Tour. He comes to the tournament after a T2 at the ZOZO Championship and a third-place finish at the Hero World Challenge.

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How did Justin Thomas perform in 2024?

Justin Thomas had a splendid 2024 season. In 20 starts on the PGA Tour, he made 16 cuts with six top-10 and 10 top-25 finishes. He finished 14th in the FedEx Cup standings. In 2023, he finished 71st while in 2022 he finished fifth.

Thomas' best performances this year include a T3 at The American Express and a T2 at the ZOZO Championship. His other notable finishes include a T5 at the RBC Heritage and the Travelers Championship respectively.

Here's a look at Justin Thomas' performances in the 2024 PGA Tour season:

• The American Express: T3 (65-67-61-68, 261, -27)
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T6 (68-67-68, 203, -13)
• WM Phoenix Open: T12 (69-65-70-68, 272, -12)
• The Genesis Invitational: Missed Cut (72-73, 145, +3)
• Arnold Palmer Invitational: T12 (69-71-72-73, 285, -3)
• THE PLAYERS Championship: Missed Cut (71-74, 145, +1)
• Valspar Championship: T64 (68-69-79-71, 287, +3)
• Masters Tournament: Missed Cut (72-79, 151, +7)
• RBC Heritage: T5 (69-68-68-65, 270, -14)
• Wells Fargo Championship: T21 (68-71-73-72, 284, E)
• PGA Championship: T8 (69-67-67-68, 271, -13)
• the Memorial Tournament: T33 (71-77-74-72, 294, +6)
• U.S. Open: Missed Cut (77-74, 151, +11)
• Travelers Championship: T5 (68-63-65-66, 262, -18)
• Genesis Scottish Open: T62 (62-72-71-71, 276, -4)
• The Open: T31 (68-78-67-77, 290, +6)
• FedEx St. Jude Championship: T30 (67-70-71-67, 275, -5)
• BMW Championship: T39 (76-72-74-68, 290, +2)
• TOUR Championship: T14 (66-69-70-65, 270, -14)
• ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP: T2 (66-64-65-66, 261, -19)
• Hero World Challenge: 3 (66-67-66-71, 270, -18)