The elite golf fans know the brother-like bond Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods have had on and off the course over the years. This duo has seen everything from playing together to competing against one another. They also mean so much to each other, and Woods refers to JT as his younger brother. The two have had plenty of moments when they caught the eye of the golf world.

The infamous tampon controversy

During the Genesis Invitational’s first round on February 17, 2023, something unlikely happened. Tiger Woods received a lot of heat from the fans and critics for handing Justin Thomas a tampon as a prank after outdriving him. What Woods thought was a harmless prank turned out to be a huge mistake.

Critics argued that the gesture encouraged harmful stereotypes about women and implied that Thomas’s driving performance was weak and feminine. Woods later apologized for the prank and said, “If I offended anyone in any shape or form, I’m sorry. It was friends having fun. We play pranks on one another all the time.” 

Justin Thomas talks about his friendship with Woods

Justin Thomas shared insights into his friendship with Tiger Woods during an interview with Golf.com. Thomas recalled a good moment he had with Woods at the Presidents Cup where he and Woods yelled “I love me some me!” after Thomas made a putt on the 18th hole. Thomas explained that the phrase was from a T.O. Tyrell Owens video montage he and his friends found on YouTube. He mentioned telling his team, “If I do something worthy on the golf course today, I am going to say it.”

According to Thomas, his relationship with Woods is more than just a friendship. Thomas says Woods is his idol, and he really looks up to the 82-time PGA Tour winner. “He’s been a lot, man… I respect him so much. I looked up to him and his golf game, and how he won, how he went about it.” Thomas also admired Woods’s qualities as a father and said, “He loves being around his kids… He’s such a good dad.”

Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods’s Q&A session

Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods opened up about their friendship in a fun Q&A session with the PGA Tour YouTube Channel. When asked about the most embarrassing moments they’ve shared, Woods couldn’t resist bringing up the time Thomas knocked over a candle at his place, to which the golfer replied by saying, “Yeah, I did do that.” Thomas fired back at Woods by telling the reporter that he had Woods make some pretty bad shots, which he claims no one has seen.

Woods confessed to being a little jealous of Thomas’s insane chipping skills and said, “I wish I hit it that far, and I wish I chipped in as many times as the knucklehead does,”  calling Thomas a knucklehead. The two golfing legends also shared some giggles about their putting competitions with Woods’s son, Charlie Woods. It seems like Thomas is not only friends with one Woods.

Justin Thomas’s moments with Charlie Woods

To add more to having a brother-like bond with Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas is also very close to his son Charlie Woods. Thomas has gotten to know Charlie well. Charlie looks up to Thomas and wants to beat him in golf, despite never being able to do so. Thomas finds this trait interesting and encourages it often by noting that Charlie’s competitiveness reminds him of his father.

But does that mean the golfer will confess to it? No, according to Thomas Charlie’s wishes to beat him are ‘trash talk’. “He’s always wanted to beat me. It doesn’t matter what it is; although he’s never beaten me in golf or a putting contest, he still talks trash, just like his dad,”  said Thomas. Thomas might have a little ongoing inner competition with Charlie because he also added that he wanted to beat him and ‘shut his little mouth up’ (in good fun); “It’ll be fun; we’ll have that inner tournament within a tournament, trying to shut his little mouth up,”  he said.

This funny and friendly banter only proves how much Charlie and Thomas are close to each other, all thanks to his friendship with Woods. So, do you like seeing the two golfers play together? Let us know in the comment section below!