NORTON, Mass. — Rivals have a way of pushing one another, bringing out the best in the other. It’s human nature.
By the game’s nature, though, golf doesn’t typically lend itself to many rivalries, making the rare exceptions all the more memorable. Snead, Nelson and Hogan. Palmer, Nicklaus and Player. Woods and Mickelson (and to a less extent Singh, Els and Duval).
Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas still remember the first time they went against each other down the stretch of a tournament. They were 13 and playing the Junior All-Star event at Walnut Creek Country Club’s Pecan Course outside Dallas/Fort Worth in Mansfield, Texas. Both opened with 68 in the two-day event before Spieth took a two-stroke lead on the front nine of the second day, eventually pulling away to win by five.
Thomas hasn’t forgotten it, either. He shot 76 that day, and five years later lost to Spieth again, this time in the 2012 NCAA Championship at Riviera, as the Longhorns defeated the Crimson Tide to take the team title.
Monday at TPC Boston, it was Thomas’ turn.