Justin Thomas: I hate Rory McIlroy during Ryder Cup and it would be the same for my wife

Justin Thomas insists his friendship with Rory McIlroy goes out the window at the Ryder Cup – and his wife would get the same treatment.

The passionate USA star has been an inspirational figure at the last two Ryder Cups, boasting a 6-2-1 record.

His performance in a losing cause at the 2018 event in France made him undroppable for Rome, despite a disappointing 2022/23 season.

Thomas twice beat McIlroy at Le Golf National, once in foursomes and again in singles, to emerge from USA’s defeat as his team’s best player by some distance.

The 30-year-old will be public enemy No.1 when the 2023 Ryder Cup begins in Italy after chugging beers on the first tee in 2021 when the USA cruised to a record-breaking victory in Wisconsin.

Thomas admits the biennial event brings out a different side to him, using his relationship with McIlroy – and his wife Jill – as examples.

The golfer said: “I would say I would just kind of channel the things that I feel because it’s nothing personal.

“Rory is a great example. I love Rory. We get along extremely well. He’s been a role model of mine. He was super nice to me when I was first starting up. He still is. We see each other a bunch.

“Yeah, we played each other in the Ryder Cup and, yeah, we hated each other for 18 holes. Again, it’s nothing personal. It’s not a dislike as a person.

“My wife knows; if Jill teed it up in the Ryder Cup for the other team, I’m going to try to beat her pretty bad.”

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Meanwhile, McIlroy recently defended US captain Zach Johnson’s decision to include Thomas by insisting Europe would have been delighted to see the American left at home.

“I thought the whole JT thing… the whole conversation around it was unjustified,” McIlroy said.

“In my opinion, being a European, and knowing that I have to see some of these guys… honestly there’s other guys on the team that I’d rather face than JT.”