19th Hole
Why Justin Thomas is excited to ‘play a little pi**ed off this year’
Justin Thomas is kicking off his 2025 campaign in Hawaii at the Sentry this week, with the 2-time major champion determined to get back to his best after an underwhelming 2024 campaign.
Thomas failed to do much of note last year on the PGA Tour, and it eventually caused him to miss out on the U.S. Presidents Cup side.
Speaking ahead of this week’s event, Thomas admitted that his absence from that side has him “excited to play a little pi**ed off this year.”
“I haven’t had the opportunity to play pissed off for a while, so I’m pretty excited to play a little pissed off this year.”
When asked by a reporter what “pi**ed off golf” entailed, the 31-year-old explained while also conceding that he did not deserve to be on the 2024 U.S. Presidents Cup side.
“I didn’t deserve to be on the team, but mentally inside my mind I always think and know that I’m going to be a good addition to a team. So, sometimes you have to tell yourself some things. But like I said, I just, I’m excited to— and I love Jim, we talked many times, and our friendship and relationship hasn’t changed at all — but there would be nothing more I would love than about four, five six times this year to text him and say, ‘Good call.’”
Thomas has decided to go coach-free in 2025, and explained his reasons for doing so this week, saying
“I’ve always been so good at fixing things on the course and on the run and trying stuff and I just lost that. So I think getting back to that where I have the accountability and ownership to, like, if I’m not hitting it good, I need to be able to figure this out on my own. I don’t have somebody to hold my hand and kind of tell me what it is. So it’s just been better for me. It’s more like what I normally, what I used to be, in a sense of, like, Okay, I’m just going to keep going, keep in check, and if I need something then we’ll go from there.”
The Kentucky native began his week in Kapalua with a round of 2-under par to sit seven shots off the lead.
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While you’re here, check out Club Junkie’s rundown of the most underrated golf clubs of 2024.
19th Hole
How much each player won at the 2026 Masters
Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.
With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.
For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.
- 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
- 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
- T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
- T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
- T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
- T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
- T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
- T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
- T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
- T9: Max Homa, $630,00
- 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
- T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
- T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
- T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
- T12: Jason Day, $427,500
- T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
- T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
- T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
- T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
- T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
- T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
- T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
- T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
- T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
- T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
- T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
- T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
- T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
- T30: Harris English, $146,250
- T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
- T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
- T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
- T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
- T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
- T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
- T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
- T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
- T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
- T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
- T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
- T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
- T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
- T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
- 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
- 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
- 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
- T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
- T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
- 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
- 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
- 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
- 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300
19th Hole
CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans
While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.
There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.
Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:



This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V
— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026
It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.
19th Hole
The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances
Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.
Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.
Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:
“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”
The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:
“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”
That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:
“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

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malibu
Jan 6, 2025 at 2:56 pm
he’s in a perpetual pi$$ed off state. unreal way to be
MrHogan
Jan 5, 2025 at 7:05 pm
One of the most loathed players, also known as the little weasel or whiner..
Bob
Jan 4, 2025 at 12:41 pm
As a father, he should be emotionally mature by now.
Playing pi**ed off is emotionally immature.
D Gillis
Jan 3, 2025 at 10:33 am
Hilarious! I’m sure everyone on tour is shaking in the FJ’s…