Ryder Cup: Justin Thomas admits transatlantic tussle makes him hate Rory McIlroy

Justin Thomas reckons the Ryder Cup is the one event in golf that makes good friends “hate” each other for 18 holes - and it will be no different in Rome this week.

Justin Thomas looks on during a practice round prior to the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club. Picture: Patrick Smith/Getty Images.

Thomas is delighted to be involved in the 44th edition at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club after arguably being the most controversial pick by US captain Zach Johnson.

On his first away appearance in the event at Le Golf National in France, Thomas was sent out first by Jim Furyk in the singles and beat Rory McIlroy by one hole, though the US ended up losing that encounter 17.5-10.5.

On a day when ten players - six Europeans and four Americans - made appearances in the interview area for the latest clash, Thomas was asked how difficult it was in a head-to-head event that involved so many emotions to not take things personally and then leak into the other 51 weeks of the year.

“I just kind of channel the things that I feel,” said Thomas. “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.

“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. It's just 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.

“It's nothing personal. There's nothing personally that I dislike of any of those guys on the team. But, of course, when you're playing them, you want to win the match. I don't know, maybe some guys on the (European) team don't like me.

That's not really my business nor is it my decision, but I look at it that way as like, no, I'm not going to keep making something personal that someone does competitively against me because I'm essentially the same way.”

Two-time major winner Thomas was controversially picked by Johnson ahead of the likes of Keegan Bradley, Lucas Glover and Tony Finau despite missing out on the FedEx Cup Play-Offs on the PGA Tour.

“I clearly am in a lot better place than I was in certain times in the summer,” said Thomas of the progress he’d made over the past few weeks. “More than anything, I'm just in a good head space, and that’s what's most important. I've won golf tournaments without my best stuff, and I take a lot of pride in that. But I did not feel like I could win golf tournaments this past year with the state that I was in mentally.”

Thomas said his low point earlier in the year had been shooting a “thousand and almost finishing last” in the US Open in Los Angeles in June and he admitted: “Just glad it worked out the way it did for me to be here.”