CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Eight years ago, a 24-year-old Justin Thomas celebrated his first major victory at Quail Hollow during the 2017 PGA Championship. This week, he returns to the familiar site as a different person and golfer, but still searching for the same result.
"I was very fortunate to have success at a young age," Thomas said Tuesday. "But when you're 23, 24 years old, it's just like you don't have anything else to think about or to have to worry about. You don't have any scar tissue. You don't have any experience."
What seemed like a harbinger of successes to come back then has evolved: Thomas now looks back at that time with a combination of nostalgia and envy.
Thomas has 16 PGA Tour wins and added another PGA Championship title to his major tally in 2022, but through the ups and downs of his career, he said he needs a reminder of his ultimate goal. He found that reminder as he watched Rory McIlroy celebrate his career Grand Slam at Augusta National's 18th green last month.
"After watching the Masters, it was like, of course -- obviously I knew I always wanted to win the Grand Slam, I wanted to win all the majors," Thomas said. "But for some reason, watching somebody do it firsthand, it reminded me almost of, 'Damn, I forgot, I really do want to do that.' It's weird. It's something I think all of us -- some certain people maybe hit us in different ways in terms of jealousy or drive or whatever you want to call it."
When Thomas burst onto the scene, he noted it was his close friend Jordan Spieth who had more of a place in the limelight. Thomas has never lacked for competitive fire, but he acknowledged that watching players such as Scottie Scheffler and McIlroy stand atop the game sparks something within. When asked how much he's fueled by the desire to remind people that he's one of the best players of his generation, Thomas did not hesitate.
"A lot," he said. "Anytime someone wins that isn't me, if it's a friend, I'm obviously happy for them, but there's always going to be a part of me that's jealous and wishes it was me. I think you'd be crazy to say otherwise."
Thomas' road hasn't been smooth. He hit rock bottom in 2023, when he missed the cut at three of the four majors. But his game has been slowly trending in the right direction since. This season, Thomas has six top-10 finishes and a win at the RBC Heritage, a signature event. His putting has vastly improved -- he's gaining just over half a stroke on the greens this season after losing a third of a stroke last year -- and Data Golf ranks him as the fifth-best player in the world right now.
"I would like to think and hope I'm a more mature person and golfer. But I don't think it's fair to play the comparison game," Thomas said. "I hope but firmly believe that some of my best is still ahead of me, and I know that I have that in there. I just have to kind of go find it and prove it."