Justin Thomas admits he “hates” good friend Rory McIlroy during Ryder Cup matches and would even be desperate to beat his own wife if she was on the opposing team.
Thomas and Jordan Spieth combined to beat McIlroy and Ian Poulter in a foursomes match in Paris in 2018, with Thomas then beating McIlroy in the opening singles at Le Golf National.
Asked how he separates the passion and emotions of the Ryder Cup from regular events, Thomas said: “I would say I would just kind of channel the things that I feel because it’s nothing personal.
“Rory is a great example. I love Rory. We get along extremely well. He’s been a role model of mine. He was super nice to me when I was first starting up. He still is. We see each other a bunch.
“Yeah, we played each other in the Ryder Cup and, yeah, we hated each other for 18 holes. Again, it’s nothing personal. It’s not a dislike as a person.
“My wife knows; if Jill teed it up in the Ryder Cup for the other team, I’m going to try to beat her pretty bad.”
Thomas and Spieth will renew their successful partnership in Rome and the latter is embracing the potential for a “rowdier, more football-like” atmosphere than he experienced in Paris.
“I try and just throw it out of my head and just stick to what I’m doing because I think blocking out the noise is the healthiest thing to do,” the three-time major winner said.
“I played a lot of matches with Patrick Reed and when he felt insulted, he turned the notch up. When I feel insulted, I don’t turn it up or down. I’m just like, OK, they are drunk, move on.
“I’ve also shouted plenty of things at sporting events at people that I have no reason to do, so I also try to say ‘pot and kettle’ and recognise that it’s all just sport and move on.”
Spieth was also keen to move away from talk of the United States suffering 30 years of hurt, their last win on European soil coming at The Belfry in 1993.
“We’ve been made very aware of how long it’s been,” Spieth said. “It’s not something we really care about, to be honest.
“Over half the team wasn’t born yet the last time we won over here. Most of the guys weren’t on any of those losing away teams.
“I was on two of them, but I felt like I played good golf. And all you can try and do is have a winning record and if everyone on your team does, you dominate the other team.
“Individually there’s a lot of freshness to this event within our squad.”
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), EsekaiaDranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), JaenBotes (Exiles), KristianStinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), EmosiVacanau (Harlequins), NikoVolavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), ThinusSteyn (Exiles)
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
