Justin Thomas lays out the conditions for a Tiger Woods return

Justin Thomas knows that Tiger Woods is “going to try” to make a comeback. But if he’s not playing well, that could always change.

In an Wednesday interview on the “No Laying Up” podcast, Thomas provided an update on Woods, who suffered serious injuries to his right leg and foot during a single-car accident in February.

The 15-time major champion is “doing well, especially all things considered,” Thomas said.

“I don’t see him ever playing if he can’t play well,” he added. “He doesn’t strike me as a guy who’s played at home and he’s shooting a bunch of 75s and 76s and he’s like ‘OK, I’m gonna give Augusta a try this year.’ That’s not really gonna be him, at least from my understanding, what I know of him.”

Thomas said that he goes to visit Woods at his home in South Florida at least two or three times per week, even if it’s just for their dogs to play, and Woods has still been his “sarcastic-ass self, so nothing has changed there” — even as each day has become “Groundhog’s Day.”

After the accident, Thomas said, Woods has been able to focus on being a father, and photos surfaced in October of Woods at a junior golf tournament with his son, Charlie. That, Thomas added, has become the top priority for him.

Additionally, one month earlier in September, Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker told Golf WRX that Woods was doing better and focused on preparing for another comeback. He and Woods called regularly, Stricker added, and Woods was “part of our Ryder Cup team” even though it wasn’t a good time for him to attend the tournament in-person.

“We don’t want to get in the way of that because we would all love to see him come back and play,” Stricker said, via Golf WRX.

Thomas said Woods, who is 45 years old and turns 46 on Dec. 30, knows that the window before the accident may have been his last chance for another run. But he returned from back injuries to win the 2019 Masters — his first major victory since the 2008 U.S. Open.

“His competitive side, like you said, is not gonna let him just hang it up without at least giving it a try at some point for sure,” Thomas said.