September 28, 2025. The final day of the Ryder Cup was the last time Justin Thomas played competitive golf before going on a long, five-month break due to his herniated disc surgery. But now, as the two-time major winner is finally ready to return at the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational, a viral video shows his signature swing is already turning up the heat.
The PGA Tour posted a video on X of JT’s grueling practice session in a purple polo and shorts at the Bay Hill course. Standing before a massive pile of golf balls, Thomas was seen working through his mid-irons with a launch monitor. Now, that’s quite a positive for the fans.
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Throughout the 2025 season, Thomas fought a quiet battle against what he called “nagging hip pain.” This hidden struggle hurt his power and made him miss the cut at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. Finishing 12-over par at the U.S. Open was a heartbreaking sign that his body was not working correctly. However, even with the pain, he broke a three-year winless drought at the RBC Heritage in April. That win and several other top-10 finishes allowed him to take a break and not compete in the fall.
After the Ryder Cup, an MRI scan showed that the hip pain was actually a bad spinal disc that needed surgery. On November 13, 2025, Thomas underwent a microdiscectomy. And after that, he was placed under strict “BLT” restrictions (no bending, lifting, or twisting) for several weeks, and he skipped the start of the 2026 season to heal.
Throughout his journey from a hospital bed back to the tee box, the 32-year-old shared health updates from time to time. The early days were unimaginably boring for him as he couldn’t do anything, but with time, the injury healed. And he shared clips of his working with resistance bands and gradually moving to chipping and putting around January. He finally got the green light to play full golf again in the middle of February.
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And before coming back to the PGA Tour, Thomas tested his back in the TGL, where he helped his team, Atlanta Drive GC, to win a game against Rory McIlroy’s Boston team. And now that his return is already confirmed, his effortless power has amazed the fans: Is this a man who just had surgery?
Fans are surprised by JT’s effortless return to the big stage after surgery
Not just Justin Thomas fans, but any golf fans who follow professional golf feel a huge sense of relief that JT is back on the green, given the severity of the injury, as one fan said, “JT at Bay Hill after surgery is the comeback energy we all need heading into spring golf season. Welcome back 💪.”
The ‘comeback energy’ is the momentum that JT is bringing with his return as the season builds toward the Masters. Last season, something similar happened when Will Zalatoris, whose return from back issues provided the ‘spring energy’ the Tour needed heading into the API, made his comeback.
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It also comes with some telling facts that show why fans feel so confident about this big debut. Thomas has played the Arnold Palmer Invitational four times previously, making the cut in every appearance, with a career-best finish of T12 in 2024. His Strokes Gained: Approach metrics were also among the best in the field last time.
18th July 2018, Carnoustie Golf Links, Angus, Scotland; The 147th Open Golf Championship, practice day; Justin Thomas (USA) Jimmy Walker (USA) follows the flight of his driver shot on the fourth hole PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxHUNxSWExNORxDENxFINxONLY ActionPlus12048554 DavidxBlunsden
That’s why one confident fan, who believes JT can repeat the same this season, said, “No better place make your season debut! JT has never lost strokes tee to green at Bay Hill, so a positive putting week and we can see his name back at the top of the leaderboard.”
And another fan repeated the same sentiment and added, “Good for the game.“
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But most of the fans are just happy after seeing him healthy after such a tough period. They simply said, “Great to see Justin Thomas back on the course!“
Thomas was out of play for over 150 days, and his path ahead might still have a few bumps despite all the early excitement.Golf insider Ryan Lavner warned that back injuries are very tricky and compared this to XanderSchauffele’s return last season. And JT himself knows that he might be a little bit rusty after five months away from tournaments.
“Look, I obviously want to and would love to play well next week, but I’m also understanding that it’ll be, what, almost five, six months since I’ve played a competitive tournament, so I’m not exactly expecting anything great. But at least everybody else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill, so that’ll make me feel a little bit better hopefully,” he said.
In the end, the viral clip wasn’t just about a grueling practice session — it was a reminder of Justin Thomas’ relentless work ethic. And if fans are all saying the same thing, it’s that this version of JT looks locked in and ready to make noise.
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