Justin Thomas espera defender su título de The Players Championship el próximo mes en TPC Sawgrass. Afortunadamente para Thomas, una persona que sabe todo sobre la defensa del título lo visitó en el campo el miércoles: el entrenador de fútbol americano de Alabama, Nick Saban.
Saban sorprendió a Thomas, un alumno de Alabama, al aparecer en el campo el día de los medios y jugar los últimos tres hoyos con él. Durante su tiempo juntos, Saban preparó a Thomas para el Campeonato de Jugadores de 2022, que se llevará a cabo del 10 al 13 de marzo, al pronunciar «el mismo discurso que le doy a nuestro equipo».
«Cuando ganas un campeonato dicen que tienes que defender», Saban dicho PGATour.com. «No tienes que defender. Nadie puede quitarte lo que hiciste el año pasado. Solo ve, diviértete y hazlo de nuevo».
«No existe tal cosa como defender un título, en mi opinión. Si te lo quitaran, sería diferente. Pero siempre vas a ser un campeón de Players y siempre vas a tener ese lugar especial en vestuario, así que diviértanse y ganen de nuevo».
Sería prudente que Thomas siguiera el consejo de Saban, ya que se convirtió en el único entrenador de fútbol americano universitario que llevó a su equipo a campeonatos nacionales consecutivos en la era BCS y CFP en 2012.
Los dos se conocieron por primera vez cuando Thomas visitó la oficina de Saban durante una visita de reclutamiento en Alabama. Saban describió a Thomas como un «cachorro tímido» en ese momento, pero su relación progresó después de que el entrenador practicara en las instalaciones de golf Crimson Tide con más frecuencia.
Ahora, Thomas asiste a un juego en casa de Alabama cada año y los dos juegan golf juntos durante la temporada baja de Crimson Tide.
Thomas, de 28 años, no ha ganado un torneo desde The Players Championship del año pasado. Tras su visita a Saban, sabe que su trabajo es «divertirse y volver a ganar».
«Es un lugar especial y un campo increíble», dijo Thomas, quien ocupa el puesto 23 en la clasificación de la Copa FedEx. «Tengo muchos buenos recuerdos aquí, pero el hecho de que estés emocionado no significa que te lo vayan a pasar. Tengo que trabajar un poco y prepararme para tratar de defender».
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