PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The champ is back.
"Being in the champion's locker room and seeing my picture around the clubhouse a little bit is something I hope to see more often as the years go on," 2021 PLAYERS Champion, Justin Thomas, said.
Thomas made his return to the Stadium Course Wednesday, where he played a few holes with University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban and looked back on his thrilling win last year.
Thomas shot a final round 4-under 68 to edge Lee Westwood by one shot for his first PLAYERS title.
"I've been fortunate to have some good rounds some success here, had never won the tournament but had come close a couple times. I'm comfortable around here, I like it, I feel like it's a place where I can get it around pretty well," Thomas said.
Thomas will be taking the next two weekends off to gear up for his title defense and says he feels as good about his game right now as he did at any point last year.
Thomas is also well aware that he's aiming to be the first defending champ in tournament history.
"It's difficult to win at a place like THE PLAYERS Championship where you have arguably one of the deepest fields in all of golf. I look forward to having the opportunity to try to win again but I got a lot of other guys who are looking to do the same thing," Thomas said.
The opening round of the tournament is March 10.