Justin Thomas plans to go through an individual training program to “ become a better person ” after being picked up with a homophobic slur when he missed a putt at a tournament in Hawaii this month.
Clothing brand Ralph Lauren ended its long-term sponsorship with Thomas after the incident two weeks ago, which the No. 3 American golfer described as “demeaning and embarrassing and it’s not me”.
Thomas has spoken with his other sponsors – Titleist, FootJoy and the global bank Citi are listed on his official website – and hopes they will assist him as he tries to educate himself and restore his reputation.
“It’s not a word I use,” Thomas said Wednesday, referring to the blemish he blurted out when he missed a 5-foot par putt on the fourth hole of Sentry Tournament of Champions, “but every one or the other. reason it was in it and that’s what I’m trying to figure out why it was in it.
“And like I said it will be part of this process and training program whatever I have to do, not just to prove myself but to prove my sponsors and to the people who don’t know who I am that that is indeed not the person I am. “
Ralph Lauren, who has sponsored Thomas since turning pro, said it was “discouraged” by his language and decided to end the association with the player because of the responsibility it has to its stakeholders.
Speaking from the Abu Dhabi Championship, where he will play in a rare appearance on the European Tour this week, Thomas said he was angry but respected Ralph Lauren’s decision.
“I spoke to them, along with all my sponsors, and although I apologized, just like then it’s an opportunity for me to grow and I felt like it was something we could have done together and went through that process ,” he said . “They just felt they had to move on, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.
“I was not disappointed,” added Thomas, “because I put them in a terrible position. I was just more upset. I had a great relationship with a lot of people there and as I said, we had the chance to do it all together. “
Thomas continued the training program he wants to pursue and said he would keep it “on a personal level.”
“Obviously, humans will be a part of that process,” he said. “But what I do I would like to keep internal and just go through the right steps to get where I need to be and want to be, so that people understand that this is not the person I am, the character I like to portray. “
The Abu Dhabi Championship kicks off on Thursday and marks Thomas’s first event since the Kapalua incident. He will play for the first time in the tournament, which will only be his fourth start in a regular European Tour event.
Rory McIlroy will play in the same group as Thomas for the first two rounds at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, and don’t expect the problem to affect the American’s play.
“He may not be that ignorant of insulting people – it is clear that what he said was offensive to a large portion of the population,” said McIlroy. “He will get better, he will learn, he will move on and he will be as good a golfer as he always has been.
“And, if anything, it will make him a better person than he already is, which is difficult because he’s already a great guy.”