Justin Thomas recalls Scottie Scheffler's victory at last year's Players despite a sudden injury: "That's what great players do" 

Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler are two of the most established names in the golf world right now. Both of them will be competing at the Players Championship this week.

Often dubbed as the 'fifth Major', the tournament is a significant event in the PGA Tour calendar. Last year, Scottie Scheffler won the title despite struggling with a neck injury. It had again bothered him during the Masters later on. Despite a similar setback, he pulled off a thundering victory at Augusta National last year.

Justin Thomas recently recalled Scheffler's injury woes while speaking at the press conference ahead of the 2025 Players Championship. He also had an amusing suggestion as he drew similarities between his Players Championship and Masters wins.

"He obviously had the neck situation last year and went on to win. And I didn't know but I guess his neck...kind of something came up at the Masters last year and obviously he won there. So, I was like clearly you need to tweak your neck more because you've won two pretty big golf tournaments doing it," he mentioned.

Justin Thomas further commended Scheffler's grit and determination to play through the discomfort and pain. He acknowledged that the latter had secured both victories even though he wasn't at his "100%" and that this quality spoke "volumes" about a player.

"I told him last week that I think I was more infatuated watching him go around the course with a messed up neck than I was playing my own game. I think watching great players or any player win without their best stuff or get it around the golf course without their best stuff is very impressive and I think it kind of speaks volumes to how they are as a player and he was far from a 100%," Thomas noted.

He further added:

"Just watching him get around and hit way more club because he couldn't fully turn or not attack certain pins or shots because he didn't have everything in the tank. That's what great players and some of the best do is they find a way to get it around and find a way to be in contention and he won one of the biggest tournaments doing that."

Scottie Scheffler suffered a freak hand injury in December last year and also underwent surgery for it. The injury forced him to miss out on a chunk of the initial PGA Tour events. He made his return to competition at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

However, the ace golfer has yet to record an exceptional performance this season. Scheffler would be looking to emulate a similar fairytale finish as last year at the 2025 Players Championship. He will return to TPC Sawgrass as the defending champion this week.

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Who are Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler paired with in Round 1 of the Players Championship?

Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas (Source: Getty)

Justin Thomas is paired with Hideki Matsuyama and Ludvig Aberg in Round 1 of the Players Championship. The trio is a part of the 10th Tee and will start their campaigns at 8:24 am ET on Thursday.

Scottie Scheffler is paired with Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. As part of the 1st Tee, the trio will tee off at 1:29 pm ET.