Justin Thomas has a habit of getting his predictions right. Back in June, reporters at Oakmont asked him how anyone could catch Scottie Scheffler at No. 1 in the world. Thomas joked that the only way was if “Scottie doesn’t play or something.” At the time, it was just a joke, but now it looks like he saw what was coming.

Thomas’ old comments resurfaced on X this week. He had replied to a fan account, @outside_the_cup, which was discussing the Player of the Year race. Thomas made his opinion clear, writing: “Disagree with this take personally. It’s more to me of 3 wins vs 2, with one of the 3 being a playoff event and a major. That’s so huge. Knowing Scottie, he will go win this week and the conversation will be over and Scottie (deservingly) wins in a landslide haha.”

That prediction came true. After Scheffler won on Sunday, Thomas returned to his old post and wrote, “Congrats to Scottie on another [win] and ending that POY debate quickly!”

Here’s why Thomas’ prediction mattered. Heading into the Tour Championship, the Player of the Year race looked genuinely close. Clark had the stronger résumé on paper, three wins, including the U.S. Open and a marquee victory at the BMW Championship. Scheffler had two wins and no major. Golf Channel also viewed the race as tight, with players like Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup still in the conversation.

Thomas didn’t see it that way. He believed Scheffler’s wins carried more weight because one came in a playoff event and the other at a major. So he made a bold call: Scheffler would win at East Lake and put the debate to rest.

That’s exactly what happened. Scheffler started the final round three shots behind Viktor Hovland, steadily closed the gap, and pulled away for a three-shot win. He earned $10 million and claimed his second FedEx Cup title (his first came in 2024), his third victory of the season and second in just 14 days, following an eight-shot win at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Tiger Woods later praised the performance, calling Scheffler’s season “historic.”

This isn’t the first time Thomas has read the Scheffler situation better than most. At the U.S. Open, while many fans were fixated on Rory McIlroy‘s strong run, Thomas noted that Scheffler was doing something similar to McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, just more consistently and at a higher level.

Golf fans love a bold prediction, but Thomas did more than simply back his fellow pro. He specifically called Scheffler to win at East Lake and end the Player of the Year debate, and the tournament proved him right.

Scheffler’s case for Player of the Year now looks nearly impossible to argue against, while Thomas gets to enjoy having called it before the Tour Championship even began. Sometimes the sharpest golf analysis doesn’t come from the broadcast booth. It comes from a player who knows exactly how good the best golfer in the world really is.