Former World No.1 Justin Thomas Calling out Greens at Arnold Palmer Invitational Has Fans Slamming Him: “Time to Move to LIV”

Justin Thomas, who made his first competitive start in six months at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, missed the cut with scores of 79 in the first and second rounds.

Former World No.1 Justin Thomas Calling out Greens at Arnold Palmer Invitational Has Fans Slamming Him: “Time to Move to LIV”

Justin Thomas (Image via Imago)

This week, Justin Thomas returned to golf. In his first competitive start since the 2025 Ryder Cup, the golfer struggled at the Bay Hill Club during the Arnold Palmer Invitational. After missing the cut, he would call out the greens at this course.

The former World No.1 underwent a microdiscectomy surgery at the end of 2025. Ahead of this 2026 debut, Rory McIlroy warned him that this was probably not the best place to make his first start of the year.

McIlroy’s words came true on Friday as “JT” struggled in his return. On Thursday, the 2-time major champion carded 6 bogeys and 2 double bogeys. His 3 birdies saw him finish the round with a score of 7-over 79.

Coming back after a long time is not easy. This was pretty evident for Thomas as he was unable to shake off the disappointments of Thursday and get into a rhythm in the following round on Friday.

He started Round 2 with a double bogey on the very first hole. Following a birdie on the next hole, he made bogeys on the 5th and 8th holes and another double bogey on the 9th.

At this point, it was a mere formality that he would miss the cut. A third double bogey of the day on the 11th hole was followed by birdies on the 12th and 16th holes. He closed out his first start with a bogey on the final hole and shot 79 again.

After missing the cut, Thomas would call out the greens. While he did admit his own shortcomings, he spoke out on the playing surface and expressed that the greens would not be alive by the time of Sunday’s play.

I’d come out here to practice, but it doesn’t really make sense to putt on these greens. … I mean, there’s zero chance that they’re going to be alive Sunday. They are so dead already. So that is one good thing about not playing here this weekend, because it is going to suck. It’s going to be really hard.

Justin Thomas said via Golf Digest

Thomas, however, was not the only one who called out the greens on Friday. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who tossed his ball into the water after missing a close-range putt on the final hole, expressed that the greens were “dead” and had “no friction.“

Social media reacts to Justin Thomas’ comments against the greens at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Justin Thomas faced some difficulties during his first start in over 6 months at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Following his missed cut, he would make some comments against the greens at the Bay Hill Club.

Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas (Image via Imago)

His words, however, did not sit well with some fans on social media. While a few defended him, many attacked him for his comments regarding the playing field. One user wrote, “Time for him to move on over to the LIV” while making their feelings known.

Check out that and some other reactions from X below:

Speaking of Thomas, last year he took part in 21 events. He would make the cut in 19 of these events and register 8 top-10 finishes, which included a victory at the RBC Heritage. That win marked his first triumph since the 2022 PGA Championship.

Justin Thomas among some big names to miss the cut at Arnold Palmer Invitational

In his first start of the year, Justin Thomas struggled to shake off the rust. The golfer carded scores of 79 in both the first and second rounds and ended up missing the cut. He was among one of the high-profile names who missed the cut at Arnie’s place.

Justin Thomas
Justin Thomas (Image via Imago)

Reigning U.S. Open Champion J.J. Spaun was one of those who struggled this week. Shane Lowry, who suffered a major collapse last Sunday and missed out on the Cognizant Classic, missed the cutline of 2-over by one stroke as he finished 3-over.

While Patrick Cantlay shot a score of 77, Keegan Bradley shot 78 in the second round. This saw them finish with a 4-over and 5-over par score, respectively. Justin Rose, meanwhile, who has already won this year, finished 6-over par.

Thomas and the others will now hope to bounce back next week at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. As for the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Daniel Berger would be hoping to continue his good form going this weekend as he sits on top of the leaderboard at 13-under par, 5 strokes ahead of Akshay Bhatia in second place.

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