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For golf fans, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is an exciting tournament to follow. Not only is the Californian event the second signature event, which means a bigger purse and tougher competition, but it also features two players who are coming back from big injury layoffs. Scottie Scheffler, who injured his hand while making Christmas ravioli will play in his first event of the season at the Pro-Am.

Joining him will be Jordan Spieth. The 3-time Major winner has been out since the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2024. The 31-year-old underwent wrist surgery, an issue that has been bothering him for a long time. And now, thanks to sponsor exemption, Spieth is finally hitting the links for his first tournament in 5 months.

As Spieth prepares for his return to the PGA Tour circuit, one of his close friends gave him a message. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are tight-knit friends from their teen years. As the latter returns from injury, Thomas put up an Instagram story as a way of welcoming back his friend to the circuit.

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The two are paired to tee off together from the Pebble Beach Golf Links at 1:32 PM EST. The PGA Tour official Instagram page put up a photo montage of the duo together on the course and around over the years with the caption reading, “JT and Spieth teeing it up together at Pebble >”.

 

 

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Justin Thomas added the same post to the story before adding his comment. “See you tomorrow,” the text read. Thomas also tagged Spieth and the official AT&T Pro-Am page as well. Now, whether Thomas meant it as a warm greeting to a friend who is returning from injury or whether he meant it as a challenge to come and beat him tomorrow is ambiguous. But considering their tight-knit relationship, it could be safe to assume that it is a mix of both.

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Will Spieth's return from injury reignite his rivalry with Thomas, or is it all friendly banter?

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The friendship and rivalry of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth

The duo has been building a strong friendship ever since they crossed paths as teen prodigies on the junior circuit. They had competed in an all-star tournament in Texas, where they had the same score of 68. Spieth, however, outscored Thomas by five strokes in the second round.

Spieth and Thomas then got the opportunity to visit France as part of the United States Team playing in the Evian Junior Masters. This trip brought their families closer as well. One of their most memorable moments would be at the 2012 NCAA Div I championship at Riviera.

Their friendship was momentarily put on hold when Spieth’s University of Texas fought against Thomas’s University of Alabama. Spieth’s Longhorns triumphed over Alabama, marking the first of many battles the duo was going to fight over the years.

Spieth turned professional in 2012, while Thomas followed suit a year later. The former etched three major victories while Thomas has two major victories, both coming at the PGA Championship, the only major Spieth is yet to win. The duo have been pushing each other on the course since their young teen years.

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“I mean, we’re always competing,” Thomas said of his relationship with Spieth. “Whether it was we want to be at the top of the Rolex Rankings in junior golf; we want to be the low junior golfer in the U.S. Amateur; we want to make the cut as an amateur in a Tour event; we want to win college player of the year and we want to lead our team’s scoring average. It’s just now we’re at the top level you can get.

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And it is not just competitive between them. They are known to poke fun at each other on and off the course well. Spieth, who was best man at Thomas’s wedding, had a mishap at the 2021 Hero World Challenge. He incurred a penalty for playing from the wrong tee box at the 17th hole. A year later, while competing in the same tournament, Thomas made a video tutorial of where Spieth should be hitting his tee from so that his friend does not make the mistake again, or is forced to relive his earlier mistake!

The duo’s friendship is a great example of how to push each other to achieve excellence. Spieth, now injury-free, will be looking to renew his rivalry on the course with his close friend. A good show awaits us at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am!

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Will Spieth's return from injury reignite his rivalry with Thomas, or is it all friendly banter?

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