It appears that the divisive LIV Golf saga is beginning to wear on Justin Thomas.
US PGA champion Thomas, 29, has been one of the high-profile stars to have resisted the extortionate sums being handed out by the Saudi-backed tour. However, US compatriots Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau are among those to have defected, essentially turning their back on the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
And golf's civil war took another twist this week when LIV player Talor Gooch, Hudson Swafford and Matt Jones lost their legal case to overturn their PGA Tour ban and compete in the FedEX playoffs. In a damning court verdict the trio were accused by the judge of hypocrisy and asked "why did they "care about the dust-collecting trophies of a bygone era?"
But whilst that can be viewed as a small victory for the status quo, another seismic blow seemingly awaits with Open champion Cameron Smith expected to soon confirm he has signed for Greg Norman. The Australian has repeatedly refused to deny a move, and was treated with apparent animosity when playing alongside Scottie Scheffler this week at the St Jude Championship.
Thomas himself has publicly taken aim at the breakaway tour, mocking the notion that LIV Golf's primary purpose is to 'grow the game'. And now the former world No 1 has admitted he's struggling to escape discussions on the saga.
He recently attended a wedding and has revealed he had to shoot to the bar in order to avoid interrogation: "A couple of weeks ago, I had some really close friends getting married," he explained, via the Daily Mail.
"I was at the wedding and the reception and I was on the way to the bathroom and got stopped by someone, got talking, he said he was a fan. 'And then, bam, next thing you know he starts asking me questions about that (LIV Golf) and my detour.
"Instead of going to the restroom, went straight to the bar to get a drink because I'm like, 'I am not in the mood for this right now'. So, it's just little stuff like that, you know, where you would just prefer not talking about it."
The Kentucky-born star has never directly criticised individuals for joining LIV Golf, but has also now called for players to pick a side and stick to it. Defectors are still permitted to play in major championships.
"It was personal to me from the beginning but I would just say it's getting more and more in-depth. It's like I said from the start, those guys were given an opportunity to go play and just go play," he added.
"You can have your cake but you don't need to eat it too and they got their fair share of a large, large amount of cake. Go eat it on your own means, you don't need to bring in on to our tour."
After two rounds in the St Jude Championships at TPC Southwind, Thomas lies tied-17th on three under par. The tournament is the first of three end-of-season PGS tour events to crown the 2021/22 FedEx winner.
