Justin Thomas to return from back surgery at Arnold Palmer Invitational
Justin Thomas will return to competitors at subsequent week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Thomas revealed the information throughout Monday evening’s TGL doubleheader, by which Thomas participated within the first of two matches. It marked his first aggressive motion, although indoors, since present process a microdiscectomy on Nov. 13.
“It’s pretty close to normal,” Thomas mentioned. “I wouldn’t say this is a normal setting or situation tonight. It’s a lot of stops and starts and whatnot. But at least when I’ve been hitting the last week or so, I feel like it’s been in a very similar spot to normal.”
Thomas, whose final event was the Ryder Cup in September, added that he is been working towards usually for at least a month, however he is nonetheless anticipating some rust when he tees it up at Bay Hill, the place he is completed T-49 (2015), T-21 (2023), T-12 (2024) and T-36 (2025).
“I would say it’ll just be a lot of little stuff,” Thomas mentioned. “…I’m attempting to play much more, however I’ll nonetheless run into stuff right here and there of simply conditions I have never been attempting to play shortly. It was my first time taking part in, hitting it in a fairway bunker, and I’m like, I have never hit a fairway bunker shot in like 4 months or one thing like that. Just to play and get on the market as typically as I can. Different winds, totally different grasses, totally different lies, totally different situations.
“Look, I obviously want to and would love to play well next week, but I’m also understanding that it’ll be, what, almost five, six months since I’ve played a competitive tournament, so I’m not exactly expecting anything great. But at least everyone else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill, so that’ll make me feel a little bit better hopefully.”
Thomas joked Monday that, “I can’t believe I got a back surgery before my dad with how his back is.” But he is nonetheless forecasting “another 12-15 years of great golf ahead of me.” His swing did not change a lot.
“There’s no reason to look backward, just look forward,” Thomas mentioned. “The same DNA, hopefully just better.”
