A day before New Year’s Eve, Justin Thomas broke his public silence with a carousel of images that decoded his entire year. His 2025 photo dump is a story told in contrasts: a plaid jacket and a back brace, a 21-foot birdie putt and a surgical table, a 1,000-day drought and a three-month recovery window.

The caption read simply: “From off the course and on, here’s 2025 in some of my favorite/most meaningful pictures. Very grateful!”

One image shows Thomas hoisting the RBC Heritage trophy at Harbour Town, draped in the tournament’s iconic tartan jacket. That April victory shattered a winless stretch spanning 1,071 days dating back to the 2022 PGA Championship. The victory marked his 16th PGA Tour title and vaulted him to No. 7 in the world rankings. This was also his first as a dad. By season’s end, he had compiled eight top-10 finishes and earned over $10.8 million.

“When the ball went in, it was pure joy,” Thomas said after sinking a 21-foot birdie putt in the playoff against Andrew Novak. “I just was so happy. I couldn’t stop smiling.”

Another photograph captured Thomas at Bethpage Black, with credentials dangling from his neck. The Ryder Cup confirmed his place among American golf’s elite. When selecting, Keegan Bradley had called him the “heartbeat” of the team.

But perhaps the most striking image shows Thomas standing in a hospital room, back brace wrapped around his midsection, both thumbs raised. On November 13, Justin Thomas underwent a microdiscectomy at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. A herniated disc had been pressing on a spinal nerve root for months, initially masquerading as hip pain.

“I’ve had some nagging hip pain for a handful of months,” Thomas explained via Instagram. “It was a herniated disc pressing on a spinal nerve root.”

Thomas had played through discomfort that worsened before the Masters and persisted through the Ryder Cup. For a player whose aggressive swing generates elite power, back injuries carry heightened risk. The violent rotation that fuels his distance also multiplies stress on the spine.

“Doing nothing is not something I’m very good at,” he admitted during the initial weeks of restrictions on bending, lifting, and twisting. He soon started his intense rehab.

The surgery forced him to miss the Skins Game, the Hero World Challenge, and the PNC Championship. Perhaps the most personal cost? He couldn’t lift his daughter, Molly, who turned one just days after his surgery.

Now the question shifts from what happened to when he returns.

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When will Justin Thomas return to the PGA Tour?

Thomas targets a mid-to-late February 2026 comeback, aligning with the standard three-month recovery window. The Genesis Invitational looms as a possible destination, though he has locked in no specific events.

His rehab has progressed methodically. By mid-December, Thomas had advanced to core work and stationary biking three days weekly. Full swings remain weeks away, somewhere in the 10-to-12-week range post-surgery. He also sat out the TGL Season 2 opener on December 28, watching his Atlanta Drive GC teammates secure victory without him.

Fellow Tour players counseled patience. Jordan Spieth, who missed events in early 2025 following his own surgery, told Thomas that athletes across sports had offered him the same advice: “You never come back too late, so take your time.” Spieth also suggested journaling recovery progress to track improvement on days when gains feel invisible.

History offers cautionary parallels. Tiger Woods underwent microdiscectomies in March 2014 and September 2015. Both returns faced setbacks. Thomas, at 32 with no prior back procedures, holds advantages over those precedents. His 2025 form proved he remains elite when healthy.

The photo dump captures a year of peaks and valleys — a tartan jacket earned after three years of near-misses, family moments at the Masters Par-3 Contest, and a hospital room that explains his autumn silence.

Whether Thomas can recapture that April magic remains the central question of his 2026. The spine will have the final word.