Justin Thomas threatens briefly to emerge from the shadows

Perhaps it’s stretching the storyline a bit to focus on the proceedings that happened at about the same time yesterday morning on different parts of the Whistling Straits golf course. But literary license shall be exercised given the intriguing relationship between Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

Battling just to manage themselves in sweltering heat, let alone while taking on the challenge of the 97th PGA Championship at a beguiling golf course, there were Spieth and Thomas jockeying for leaderboard position. But at about the same time Spieth was making birdie at the par-4 first, his 10th, to go to 4-under, Thomas was chopping up the par-5 fifth in double-bogey fashion to drop to 3-under.

Call it a microcosm of the current PGA Tour landscape, if you will, because while Spieth and Thomas have travelled parallel routes — junior golf stars, polished collegians, highly-touted pro talents — it is “the kid” who has taken off and left “the older guy” in his dust.

Spieth being “the kid” since he was born in July of 1993, three months after Thomas.

“I remind him all the time that I’m older,” Thomas loves to joke, and let the record show that while these lads are engaged in serious athletic endeavors and blessed to have exorbitant riches at their disposal, they embrace a youthful playfulness.

Consider, for example, that slice of our world that is so hip for these kids. Twitter. Spieth loves it. So does Thomas. And so earlier this year when Spieth was out on the Monterey Peninsula in California and wanted to let the world know about the thrill of playing “CYPRUS” Point, his gaffe was jumped upon by Thomas.

“It’s what you get with a University of Texas education,” Thomas quipped, and Spieth was humiliated. “It’s only my favorite golf course in the world,” Spieth said of Cypress Point, and while it was clear it was a harmless mistake, it was good fun for all.

It was also fun stuff this past Tuesday when the 22-year-olds teamed to beat Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler in a practice-round match at Whistlin Straits, a five-hour walk that served two purposes: To give them a good feel for the PGA Championship venue, but also to toughen them up competitively, because there were dollars on the line.

Now gambling may be frowned upon by PGA Tour officials but it sure adds spice to those mundane practice rounds. What’s more, it provides Thomas with a better perspective of how his longtime friend has roared to impressive heights.

Hard to believe that it wasn’t too long ago that Spieth and Thomas were on equal footing, freshmen at the Unviersity of Texas and University of Alabama, respectively. But Spieth chose to leave college after one year, Thomas stayed for two years and that one-year headstart has opened doors faster and taken Spieth further in a hurry.

Already in his third PGA Tour season, Spieth owns five victories, though it’s the Masters and US Open triumphs this season that has made him the rage. Compared to that, Thomas is barely on the radar, but step back, take a look at the big picture, and absorb this reality: Thomas is having a superb rookie season, having piled up $1.8m in prize money on the strength of seven top 10s.

Having roared to 82nd in the Official World Golf Ranking, Thomas for a brief moment in yesterday’s stifling humidity was stealing some of the spotlight from Spieth, birdies at the first, second, and fourth holes pushing him to 5-under. Only two off the lead, Thomas was ahead of Spieth by one.

Ah, but golf being golf and Spieth being Spieth, the picture changed in a hurry. Thomas played the last six holes in 3-over to shoot 70, Spieth played his final holes in 2-under for 67 and the picture we have through 36 will look familiar. Spieth at 6-under 138 is in contention, Thomas at 2-under 142 is fighting for the sort of break-through performance he’s been hinting at.

“I expect to win every event I play in now,” Thomas said.

He knows it sounds bold, given he’s a rookie and hasn’t won, “but I’ve had a lot of opportunities to win this year and although I haven’t done it, it’s probably for the better. I’ve learned from it and I’m more confident than ever going into this tournament”.

True, Spieth’s brilliant season has pushed these two young men further apart in golf terms, but as friends, they ‘re as close as ever. The week after Spieth won the Masters? He was on Hilton Head Island, shaving a rental home with Thomas for the RBC Heritage tournament.

They split the rental cost, of course. It’s just the spotlight that Spieth refuses to share.