Justin Thomas has revealed how Tiger Woods gave him grief for the fortunate break he received on the final tee shot of his Players Championship victory.
Thomas posted rounds of 64 and 68 over the weekend at TPC Sawgrass to claim a one-shot win over Lee Westwood, having been seven strokes behind at the halfway stage, although came close to a costly mistake on his final hole on Sunday.
The world No 2 saw his tee shot turn towards the water but stay on dry land after a favourable bounce, allowing him to make par and set the winning clubhouse target, with Woods critiquing Thomas' effort during an exchange of conversations after the victory.
"First and foremost, every conversation I've had with him I want to make sure he's doing all right and feeling well," Thomas said ahead of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
"He told me that I toed my tee shot on 18, which I didn't. I hit it right in the middle, I just overturned it a little bit, but he's adamant that I toed it. I made sure to remind him that I didn't, it was right where I needed to be!
"I had some texts from him. I got to FaceTime, talk with him a little bit after, because I knew he would want to chat and catch up and I knew he was going home the following day, so it was cool.
"He was in great spirits and I was glad to hear how supportive [he was]. My dad said he was texting him the whole day, giving him grief about what was going on, so it was good to see he was watching."
Thomas heads into the latest World Golf Championship event top of the Olympic Qualification standings, following Dustin Johnson's confirmation that he intends to skip this summer's games, with the 27-year-old relishing the chance to represent Team USA in Tokyo.
"I mean I'm ecstatic to have the opportunity to do so [play in the Olympics]," Thomas added. "I hope they happen and I hope I qualify because I think that would be one of the coolest honours that I've ever had.
"It's something you don't obviously get to do too often and it's probably the only one of the only tournaments that I would brag about playing in or qualifying for, the fact that I would be able to play for Team USA in the Olympics. I would be honoured to [play] and I hope I get the opportunity."
Thomas has been drawn alongside defending champion Kevin Kisner, 2019 runner-up Matt Kuchar and former major champion Louis Oosthuizen in the round-robin group stage of the Match Play, with the 14-time PGA Tour winner looking to build on nine top-15 finishes in his last 11 worldwide starts.
Watch the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins with Featured Groups on Wednesday from 3pm on Sky Sports Golf.