Justin Thomas has revealed he won thousands of pounds as a teenager playing golf with Michael Jordan - and bought himself his first car with the winnings.
The golf star appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert where he discussed the deal he made with the NBA icon. The former Chicago Bulls player is an avid golf lover and he used to attend the Kentucky Derby every year.
While there he would take part in a round of golf with former NBA player Junior Bridgeman and Thomas’ father, Mike, who was the head professional at the course where they would play. Thomas was their caddie and during the third year in which they played together, Jordan invited Thomas to join in and be his partner, and his performances resulted in a great reward.
READ MORE: Justin Thomas aims brutal shot at LIV Golf star over Masters dig at Rory McIlroy
READ MORE: Justin Thomas drops from first to near-last at Valspar Championship with brutal round
"I didn't play the first couple of years. My dad's course was very old school - no tee times, no rules really, just go play as a sixsome or whatever, no caddies. So I would be the caddie for the group,” Thomas began. "First couple of years, I'd help them out. And, finally, in that third year - the last year they came out - he would call me 'Little Man', so he said 'Little Man, go get your clubs because you're going to play the last seven holes with us.'"
Thomas continued: “He knew I played golf, but he didn’t know that I was decent and nobody else definitely had any idea. I made four birdies in seven holes and helped pay for my first car." When Colbert asked Thomas if he felt nervous playing his best, he said: “No, I just felt pressure playing with Michael Jordan. He was like, 'Alright, I’ve got him'”.
The golfer said he was not told how much they were playing for in case it psyched him out, before later discovering the amount that was on the line. “I won 3-4 grand,” the American added. “The assistant at the time was helping get stuff together and everyone came in from 36 holes and my dad’s like giving me a hard time. ‘You need to tip him.’ I’m like, ‘Tip who?’ He said, ‘Matt, the assistant'.”
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US .
The interview came after Thomas produced a poor showing at the Valspar Championship over the course of March’s penultimate weekend. After registering a birdie to start the tournament which left him in joint first place, he dropped as low as joint-66th.
He registered a round of eight over par 79, one of the worst of his career. He finished the event joint 64th and three over par, but despite his underwhelming showing with The Masters just three weeks away, he is not worried. “At the end of the day, at some point, (saying) ‘hitting good putts’ … I mean, they need to go in,” Thomas said.
“But I did feel I putted well at Bay Hill, and here for the first two days (68-69). My speed was off this week, and I couldn’t quite get the ball to the hole. It truly was one of those ‘golf’ days. It sucked. The timing was bad, but a lot better this week than in a couple of weeks.”
