Justin Thomas underwent a successful microdiscectomy surgery on November 13, 2026. Ever since then, he has been focusing on spending quality family time during the recovery period, especially with his daughter Molly. But while he is cherishing fatherhood now, it was not always the case. Traveling with fellow PGA Tour elites made it seem scary for him, and for a good reason.

“Let me ask you this. Did it help or did it hurt rooming with Jordan and Ricky so much on the road over the last couple of years before you had Molly? Seeing those dads in action and seeing how much work it was, did it scare you at all, or did it make you more excited about having a kid of your own?” Smylie Kaufman asked Justin Thomas.

“The idea of being a parent for the first time is, I think, pretty scary in itself. It was probably both,” Justin Thomas said on The Smylie Kaufman Show.

“It’s like a guy could lose his wallet three times in a week, and he’s Sammy, and he was doing great at the time. So I’m like, I should be fine.”

Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler are good friends. They frequently travel and room together during PGA Tour events. For instance, they all went together in 2016-2017 on SB2K16/17 Bahamas vacations. They partied at Baker’s Bay with shirtless golf, fishing, Snapchats, and #SB2K16 snaps. Besides that, they shared group rentals during the Open Championship 2016, and also had a post-Open golf trip to Ireland in 2024.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Both fellow professionals became fathers before the 16x PGA Tour winner.

Jordan Spieth married Annie Verret in 2018. The couple has three kids. They welcomed their first child, son Sammy, in November 2021, followed by daughter Sophie in September 2023, and son Sully in July 2025. Rickie Fowler, on the other hand, married Allison Stokke in 2019 and had two daughters – Maya in the fall of 2021 and Nellie in the summer of 2024.

Justin Thomas joined the club on November 18, 2024, when he and his wife, Jillian Wisniewski, welcomed their daughter, Molly. Traveling together gave the 2025 RBC Heritage winner an opportunity to learn from them. In fact, Fowler even gave him parenting advice before he became a father.

“I think a lot of the stuff I’ve told them is things that worked for here or worked for other people or other babies. It all ends up being trial and error,” Fowler said from the Sanderson Farms Championship pre-tournament press conference.

This shows how being with Spieth and Fowler helped JT gain firsthand experience of juggling between golf and dad duties. And as he reveals, it made him excited as well as nervous.

JT once felt scared, but now cherishes being a father.

Justin Thomas won his first PGA Tour event in front of Molly

JT won the 2025 RBC Heritage in 2025. It was his first victory in around 3 years, since the 2022 PGA Championship. However, what made the win special was not that it came after a long hiatus, but because it was in front of his family.

“Yeah, it was very special,” JT said. “But I remember walking up 18 and seeing Jill and Molly there and it hurt because I knew that without some luck, I probably wasn’t going to win anymore. But also with them there, it just was like oh my gosh, I felt like I had it.”

Justin Thomas fired rounds of 61-69-69-68 to finish the regulation rounds at 17-under par 267. However, he was not the only one with that score. Fellow American professional Andrew Novak tied him after the four rounds, resulting in a playoff between the two. It took only one playoff round, as Novak was eliminated and JT hit a birdie.

Supporting him throughout the event were his wife and daughter. After the win, JT got emotional talking to Amanda Balionis about ending the drought. Jillian Thomas was standing right next to him, beaming with pride and holding their daughter in a portable baby carrier.

“I mean, I obviously want to have so many more of those moments,” Justin Thomas added when speaking to Smylie Kaufman.

Before he could make more such moments, the 16x PGA Tour winner had to undergo back surgery. But he has now recovered.

JT cleared to play

Justin Thomas has been medically cleared for full golf activity following his November 2025 back surgery. He is making his comeback at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational. The event is scheduled to be held from March 5 to 8, 2026, at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Orlando.

The major champion announced the news through an Instagram post on November 11, 2026.

“After some follow up imaging and meeting with my Dr and team, I’m officially cleared for all golf activity! It feels great to be swinging freely again and getting some reps in on the course,” JT wrote in the caption to the post.

He has already played a TGL match against Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common Golf. While he didn’t score any points in singles, he helped with his powerful drives in triples. His team, featuring himself, Patrick Cantlay, and Chris Gotterup, defeated the team of Michael Thorbjornsen, Keegan Bradley, and Rory McIlroy.

Now, he is all set to make his 2026 PGA Tour debut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He will be teeing it off alongside Hideki Matsuyama in his group at 1:20 pm EST. Only time will tell if he will be able to make those extra moments with Molly and his wife by winning more PGA Tour events.