Justin Thomas wishes he could get a mulligan.
The PGA Tour star called himself a homophobic slur Saturday during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.
Thomas uttered the slur on the fourth hole after missing a 4-foot put for par, and he was caught on a Golf Channel microphone.
The 27-year-old Thomas, who has won the PGA Championship and 13 PGA Tour events, was apologetic when he discovered his slur was caught on TV after his round.
“There’s just no excuse. I’m an adult, I’m a grown man,” Thomas told the Golf Channel after his round. “There’s absolutely no reason for me to say anything like that. It’s terrible. I’m extremely embarrassed. It’s not who I am. It’s not the kind of person that I am. But it’s … unfortunately, I did it and I have to own up to it and I’m very apologetic.
Thomas vowed that he will learn from this incident.
Warning: Video contains graphic language
“Like I said, it’s in excusable. I’m speechless. … it’s bad,” Thomas said. “There’s no other way to put it. I need to do better. I need to be better. It’s definitely a learning experience. I deeply apologize to anyone and everybody who I offended and I’ll be better because of it.”
Thomas stands at 17-under and is tied for fifth, four strokes behind third-round co-leaders Ryan Palmer and Harris English.
