Justin Thomas Has Fan Who Yelled "I hope you hit it in the water!" Ejected from Honda Classic
By Michael Shamburger
Just last week, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy commented on the crowds that were following Tiger Woods at the Genesis Open, saying that they were “getting out of hand.”
Fast forward to Sunday at The Honda Classic and Thomas had a run in with a fan while on his way to a playoff win over Luke List.
Per Ryan Lavner at Golf Channel:
"While walking up to the 16th tee, tied for the lead, Thomas heard a fan yell in his direction: “I hope you hit it in the water!” Thomas looked back at the spectator but didn’t say anything. After Thomas ripped a long iron into the fairway, the same fan began shouting for the shot to get into the bunker. “I was like, OK, I’ve had enough,” Thomas said afterward. “I just turned around and asked who it was, and he didn’t want to say anything, now that I had actually acknowledged him. So, he got to leave a couple holes early."
You can watch the moment the fan yelled, “get in the bunker” below.
" A fan yelled “Get in the bunker!” after Justin Thomas’s shot so Thomas quickly had him kicked out and told him to “Enjoy your day buddy” ?pic.twitter.com/0NxACneAzT — High & Outside Sports (@HighandOutside_) February 26, 2018 "
Once again, Thomas is not wrong for getting agitated. No one wants to have someone yelling discouraging things at them while they’re on the job, especially with that much money on the line. And sure, these guys are professionals and should be able to take it, but is this really what it’s come to? Yelling negative remarks at a PGA Tour player will not make you look cool in front of your friends. in fact, it does the opposite.
The crowds, with the return of Tiger, have already grown immensely, and as he appears to be progressing and getting closer to doing something special, we can only expect that to continue.
The PGA Tour is on the verge of having a crowd control issue, but how can they prevent fans from yelling “mashed potatoes” or “baba booey” as a player makes contact with a ball? That’s something they will need to figure out soon before more players begin to have regularly have issues with fans.
UPDATE: Thomas issued the following statement on Twitter.
Getting a lot of comments on the fan incident yesterday.. sorry to any and all offended by it. There was more said as we walked to the tee wishing bad things on the course for myself or Luke. Then the get in the bunker comment over and over again I felt...
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) February 26, 2018
...it was very understandable to have him escorted out. I never want to lose fans, or have people root against me. I just didn’t see a place for that particular person to be yelling at us things that weren’t necessary over and over again. I over reacted...
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) February 26, 2018
..and should not have had him kicked out. I feel bad for it, but was more doing so because again I felt the stuff he was saying was completely unnecessary. I love all my fans and to hear that I’ve lost quite a few bc of that, isn’t fun. So I’m sorry to all!
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) February 26, 2018
...the fans are who support us all on TOUR and we are extremely lucky to have them each and every week. Thanks to all who came out and supported at @TheHondaClassic and continue to every week we play. We (I) love you guys
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) February 26, 2018
* Yelling is fine at the Ryder Cup, just don’t take any personal shots at the players.