LIV Golf pro Mito Pereira says watching Justin Thomas take a shot at him ‘hurt a little bit’ and he would like his revenge.
Mito Pereira
LIV Golf player Mito Pereira has revealed seeing Justin Thomas take a dig at him during his 2023 PGA Championship dinner speech ‘hurt a little bit’.
Pereira was at the receiving end of a brutal jibe from Thomas that was captured during the second series of the Netflix documentary Full Swing.
Thomas, 30, was addressing past PGA Championship winners before dinner in his honour at Oak Hill Country Club when he said: “I personally want to have a cheers to Mito Pereira because this would not happen without him.”
The comment drew laughs from players in the room but overall it has been met with a mixed reaction, with some golf fans accusing JT of lacking class.
Thomas’s comment was in reference to the Chilean’s costly bogey on the 72nd hole at Southern Hills.
Pereira was leading the field by one stroke but disaster struck on the final hole when he sliced his tee shot into the creek.
The dropped shot saw Thomas and Will Zalatoris head for a playoff.
Pereira told Barstool Sports that he would love to be in a position to beat Thomas in the future.
Justin Thomas toasts Mito Pereira
“It was not very fun for me or I think for anybody,” the 29-year-old told Barstool Sports before LIV Golf Miami.
“I’ve seen Instagram and he’s not getting a lot of love about that.
“I’m not really close to him so it’s not like I’m going to go talk to him.
“It hurt a little bit, just not really to go at him and say something.
“It gives you a little bit of fire. If that happens again I’d really like to be in that position to beat him.”
Elsewhere, Thomas has confirmed on the eve of the 2024 Masters he has split with his long-time caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay.
Both Thomas and Mackay have not revealed the exact reason behind their split.
Thomas has wished Bones well with an emotional post on X.
According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, he will have a familiar face on the bag at Augusta National.
