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Professional golfers are trend artists. They live their lives in directions. all kinds. How they drive the ball, what their short game looks like, or how many cuts they’ve made in a row. It’s all directions. Recognize them and respond.
Trends are often based on hard numbers like Strokes Gained or Fairways hit. But sometimes they are more subjective. Like what Justin Thomas was feeling on the hottest and wildest day last season. There was the Mayakoba event in late 2021, where it felt draining.
“Just go,” said Thomas.
Then there was the PGA Championship, which he won, despite suffering from low energy and severe congestion.
“I have no idea how I ended up playing so well that week,” said Thomas.
Then there was the Tour Championship, where all of the season-long trends come to a close. Thomas shot a 68 in East Lake’s final round, signed his card, walked into the locker room and grabbed everything he had eaten that day. If it wasn’t obvious before, now the trend is clear for JT: “The heat’s got to me.”
The more it is excessive hot Outside, Justin Thomas quickly got tired. Much faster than he should have been, a fit 29-year-old professional athlete, at the peak of his career. Inside, things weren’t so perfect. Thomas had what he described to GOLF.com as a “leaky gut” that was zapping him of his energy in the midst of summer. The plan to fix it came after blood tests, food allergies, and conversations with health expert Dr. Ara Sobia.
Suppiah gave Thomas special instructions. Gluten free for a year. No dairy for six months. Then have a special yellow drink every day mixed with some peach flavored powder and a LivPur hydration pack. That should fix his leaky gut and help his body push through the energy-sucking afternoons on the PGA Tour.
“I hope it works out because it sucks not being able to eat anything good,” Thomas said Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championships. “But if I don’t try it, I won’t know if it works, you know what I’m saying? Hopefully it’s something that will help me a lot and it’s a bit of trial and error kind of.”
Thomas is kind of trial and error. He looks at all the variables that could affect his game and tries to control them. He does not drink during tournament weeks. He goes to bed around 10pm every night. Some of these things can be a burden; And he knows it. But if that’s the difference with how it feels to stand in the waterway during a steamy Sunday at Los Angeles Country Club, he’ll be happy with the process.
“If you’re on the road or if you’re on vacation, it’s definitely tough,” said Thomas. “I have to be that guy who tells the waitress or bartender what’s going on.”
So, what does this diet actually look like? Thomas relies on Chef Michael Parker a lot while he’s on the road. Parker has cooked for some of the biggest names in the world, and is often based in Jupiter but takes off during key weeks. It helped push Thomas toward more steak, more chicken, and more fish. Less bread. More vegetables. More rice. Just some Types of salad dressing, says Thomas.
So, after three months of changes, how is the new diet faring? We are all curious.
Very well, says JT. feel better. He has more energy in the morning. All good stuff. But he’s only halfway on his dairy-free journey and only a quarter of the way on his gluten-free plan. The most diabolical combination of dairy and gluten is exactly what Thomas wants most.
“I want a pizza too – bad king, you have no idea,” he told me back in March. After a month and a half, that doesn’t seem to have changed.
“I want a pizza that you can’t imagine,” he said again on Tuesday. “Like I do some really messy stuff for a just-dipped ranch pizza.”