Thomas pulls out shot McIlroy has been working on | Golf News

Justin Thomas made his return to aggressive golf this week forward of his PGA Tour comeback after back surgical procedure, and he hit a drive that Rory McIlroy could be proud of.

Thomas has not performed a event since the Ryder Cup in September, present process a microdiscectomy in November to handle an issue found after the 32-year-old skilled nagging pain in his hip.

On the eighth gap of Atlanta Drive’s match against McIlroy’s Boston Common at SoFi Center, Thomas stepped up to hit the tee shot on Stinger, one of the simulator league’s more inventive holes.

Players are confronted with the problem of hitting a low, piercing shot below an overhanging rock formation, and Thomas executed his drive to perfection. The ball apexed at just 18 ft before bounding down the green.

Regular viewers of the PGA Tour would have seen McIlroy unleash comparable tee pictures at last week’s Genesis Invitational.

The five-time major champion, famend for his high bombs off the tee, has had the low bullet drive in his arsenal for a few years, but he appears to be utilizing it more often of late when he’s introduced with difficult tee pictures.

“You know, there’s just some tee shots around here where I feel like if I get it in the air, the only thing I can see is trouble,” McIlroy explained.

“I launched it up [high on] 17 and then I’ll hit it low on 18 because that’s what I see and that’s what I feel gives me the best chance to put it in the fairway.

“I’ve used it for the last few years. I think I started to use it a lot more at Pinehurst in ’24, I started to hit the low one there. I’ve always had it, but I started to hit it more.

“So when I start to hit it more, I start to become more confident with it and it’s become more of a go-to shot rather than like a specialty shot. It’s something I’ll use a few times a round.”