Justin Thomas shows true colours with Rory McIlroy comment after winning RBC Heritage

 Justin Thomas likened the relief he felt after claiming the RBC Heritage in his first PGA Tour victory for three years to Rory McIlroy's long-awaited Masters triumph. The American, 31, captured a first Tour win since 2022 on Sunday when narrowly beating Andrew Novak in a one-hole playoff in South Carolina.

Despite earning a second PGA Championship in 2022, instead of pushing on, the two-time major winner was unable to build on his success but has finally added more silverware as well as a staggering £2.7million ($3.6m) prize purse. With the monkey off his back, Thomas spoke of the sheer relief he felt after his winning putt and the similarities of his win compared to McIlroy's at Augusta.

"It's obviously incredibly different from Rory's situation, but there is a little bit of relief there. This was just the me of old. I was just really patient today," Thomas said, per Jason Sobel of SiriusXM. "It's so hard to force the issue on a course like this. It's so fast and so much fun to play. I'm really proud of myself."

Despite the pressure of a playoff, Thomas admitted he missed the feeling of winning but made sure to have as much as fun as possible on the course. "I've never made a putt to win a tournament before, of length," he revealed. "Been fortunate to have a lot of tap-ins but that was pretty cool. It wasn't as fun as much as I thought it would be.

"Winning is hard, it's really hard but I've worked my butt off and stayed patient and positive," said Thomas. "I didn't realise how much I missed winning and battling out there today was so much fun."

McIlroy will return to action at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Shane Lowry in their defence of their title. In what has already been a hugely successful start to 2025, the 35-year-old has been tipped to add a further five majors to his name by Trevor Heaven, the men's captain at Holywood Golf Club.

The Northern Irishman's compatriot insisted: "I think it's a free run over the next couple of years, and he's so talented that when he turns up to all the golf tournaments, he's always the favorite. But Rory pushes through the 'Rory-coaster.'

"He makes us wait but the excitement, the humbleness of the guy, the professionalism of the guy, the homeboy of Holywood, it's an unbelievable achievement that he's done, and he's now a global superstar."