Justin Thomas confirmed after a five month injury-related absence he will returning to competition at next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
It will be five months since Thomas last hit a golf ball competitively since the Ryder Cup back in September, but announced a week ago that he was finally fully cleared for golf activity, with a clip of him hitting drives on the range.
And the current World No. 14 ranked Thomas confirmed his intentions in returning to the Tour soon after his Atlanta Drive TGL side defeated rivals Boston Common 5 – 2 in their showdown at SoFi Stadium in West Palm Beach, Florida.
BREAKING NEWS ….
JT @JustinThomas34 ending a 5-month injury returning to competition at next week’s @APinv
“I’ve missed the competition & it’s been a long time and it’s good to be back here & playing” , he said @TGL
Read: https://t.co/vr35hMWMCS
Getty
✅ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/dDBidsLvX9
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) February 24, 2026
“It’s great and obviously, I’ve missed the competition and it’s been a long time and it’s good to be back here and playing to feel the competitive juices, the adrenalin and I’ve just missed competing,” said Thomas.
“I’ve watched these guys on TV the last … it feels like a really, really long time, so it’s good playing with them”.
Thomas underwent surgery in November at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York to address a disc issue that caused what he described as “nagging hip pain” for several months. He shared videos of himself working with resistance bands in the gym and provided updates on his socials throughout his rehabilitation.
Last year, Thomas finished seventh in the 2025 FedExCup standings, highlighted by a victory at the RBC Heritage, his first time in the winner’s circle since the 2022 PGA Championship.
It prompted Thomas to be asked if the surgery has led to any alteration to his hitting the golf ball.
“Not a lot. I’m still going to have a lot ofthe same DNA and characteristics. I think there’s maybe little things that have maybe changed over the last couple years that could have potentially caused an injury”, he replied.
”But a lot of it is just wear and tear for all of us. I’ve done a lot of reading and research and understanding that a lot of golfers have a very similar situation, but it affects everybody totally differently. Some people have no nerve pain. The fact that my dad has no nerve pain, I can’t believe I got a back surgery before my dad did with how his back is. But it’s one of those things that it’s not nerve related for him, and it was for me.
“The same DNA, hopefully just better”. He was also quizzed why he chose Arnie’s event to make his return.
“Yeah, a course really like any is the adjustment. But I would say it’ll just be a lot of little stuff”, said Thomas.“I’ve been able to practice pretty normal for at least a month I feel like, or maybe not quite that much, so I’m trying to play a lot more, but I’ll still run into stuff here and there of just situations I haven’t been in in a while.
“It was my first time playing, hitting it in a fairway bunker, and I’m like, I haven’t hit a fairway bunker shot in like four months or something like that. Just trying to play and get out there as often as I can. Different winds, different grasses, different lies, different scenarios.
“Look, I obviously want to and would love to play well next week, but I’m also understanding that it’ll be, what, almost five, six months since I’ve played a competitive tournament, so I’m not exactly expecting anything great.
“But at least everybody else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill, so that’ll make me feel a little bit better hopefully”.
Last year, Thomas finished seventh in the 2025 FedExCup standings, highlighted by a victory at the RBC Heritage, his first time in the winner’s circle since the 2022 PGA Championship.
