Justin Thomas winning the 2022 PGA Championship? $2.7 million. A former Alabama player being petty towards Jimbo Fisher? Priceless.
Riding high after capturing the second major championship of his career, Thomas went on SiriusXM Radio and could not help weighing in on the Fisher-Nick Saban feud. He was asked if he has a 24-hour “rule” similar to Saban’s that says after a win you have 24 hours to celebrate a win before you move on, mentally.
“Yeah, I got a 24-hour rule. I’m not sure what Jimbo Fisher’s rule is, but I guess he’s gotta win something first before he figures out his rule,” Thomas said.
Thomas attended Alabama and played on the golf team from 2011-2013. He won the Haskins Award and Nicklaus Award, presented to the nation’s top player, as well as the Mickelson Award as the nation’s best freshman. After leading the Crimson Tide to a National Championship as a sophomore, Thomas left for qualifying school and earned his PGA Tour card within the year.
In true Saban fashion, Thomas is already looking ahead to the upcoming Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas: “I’m playing next week, so we’ll enjoy it, but at the same time we’re in the middle of a very, very big stretch of the season. It’s great to be able to spend this time with my team, but it’s back to work.”
A Brief History of the Feud
Last Wednesday at an Alabama Athletics event in Birmingham, Saban was quoted as saying that Fisher and his Aggies “bought every player on their team” in recruiting this past year while the Crimson Tide “didn’t buy one player.”
Thomas was alluding to Fisher’s exclusive interview with KSAT-TV – a news station based out of San Antonio – on Sunday. It was posted 72 hours after his original press conference in response to Saban’s comments on Thursday morning.
What Thomas does not know – or maybe care to know – is that Fisher actually has “won something” before. As head football coach of Florida State, the Seminoles won the 2013 BCS National Championship behind the arm of Jameis Winston.
Fisher has a respectable 34-14 overall record – albeit a 21-12 SEC mark – with the Aggies since he took over as the head coach prior to the 2018 campaign. That includes three bowl wins in four years and a No. 4 finish in the national rankings in 2020.
But still, Fisher has not yet put it all together for an SEC West title and spot in the league’s championship game. Is that time coming? Maybe. In fact, most think it is because of Texas A&M’s top spot in the 2022 On3 Sports recruiting rankings – which originally led to Saban’s comments against Fisher.