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Fresh off his first Players Championship win at
TPC Sawgrass a week ago, the 27-year-old American is in prime
position to secure a spot at the July 23-Aug. 8 Games -- a
tantalizing possibility, Thomas said.
"I hope I qualify because I think that would be one of the
coolest honors that I've ever had," the 2017 PGA Championship
winner told reporters on Monday, after world number one Dustin
Johnson confirmed earlier this month that he would skip Tokyo.
"It's probably one of the only tournaments that I would brag
about playing in or qualifying for, the fact that I would be
able to play for Team USA in the Olympics."
Thomas, who has finished in the top 15 in nine of his last 10
starts, must keep his steady and strong performance going until
the end of the men's June 21 qualifying window to book a ticket
to the Tokyo Games, which were delayed by a year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
He defeated England's Lee Westwood by one stroke at Sawgrass for
his inaugural Players Championship win, earning the applause of
15-times major winner Tiger Woods, who texted his support while
recovering from injuries sustained in a brutal car accident last
month.
"(Woods) was in great spirits," said the 14-times PGA Tour
winner. "My dad said he was texting him the whole day, giving
him grief about what was going on, so it was good to see he was
watching."
Thomas faces off against fellow American Matt Kuchar, defending
champion Kevin Kisner and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen in the
first round of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin
Country Club on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; editing by Clare Fallon)
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