Justin Thomas with a cigar during some downtime from the course. Smoking cigars reminds him of his grandfather.
Justin Thomas took his seat in a private dining room at the TPC Sawgrass in late February, wearing a sharp blue golf shirt, crisp white golf slacks and casual white shoes. The defending champion of The Players Championship extended his hand for a shake and a genuine hello, his southern gentleman demeanor shining through.
It was a gorgeous day at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida, with amateurs tackling Pete Dye's infamous monster, a beast with a famously deadly island green par three that devours one golf ball after another. Thomas had conquered the course the previous March for his first Players Championship title, the 14th PGA Tour victory of his career. Now he was back at the scene of the win, and seemed right at home at the PGA Tour's home, and why wouldn't he? He definitely owns a piece of it right now, his picture in a row of champions in the lush clubhouse, his play catapulting him to the upper echelons of the game.
Thomas, 28, has come a long way since he first sat down with CIGAR AFICIONADO for an interview in 2017. The great promise of that 2016-17 Tour season-five victories including the 2017 PGA Championship and the Fedex Cup title-had come true years later, including a short spell as the world's No. 1. He has been consistently ranked as a Top 10 player since 2017, and his career earnings of $46 million make him No. 16 on the all-time list. All the success is reason enough to smoke a cigar now and then.
Denne historien er fra May - June 2022-utgaven av Cigar Aficionado.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May - June 2022-utgaven av Cigar Aficionado.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Enforcer - Cole Hauser, who plays the tough-as-nails cowboy Rip on the hit show "Yellowstone," has been around horses since he was a little boy
Cole Hauser looks like he can kick your ass. And kicking ass is the specialty of his most famous character, Rip Wheeler from the hit series "Yellowstone." He's the show's man in black, his dark cowboy hat often coated in trail dust, shades hiding his intense eyes, black beard covering a mouth that seldom smiles. The absolute opposite of a pretty boy, he's never chatty-and when he does talk it's often with a bit of menace in his voice. He's not the kind of guy to take a back seat to anything.
Pinball Machines - "Two kind of people in this world," Ray Liotta's character says in the 1997 movie Cop Land.
"Two kind of people in this world," Ray Liotta's character says in the 1997 movie Cop Land. Pinball people and video game people." If you're 50 or older, you might fall into the former group of gamers who are enthralled by the ringing bells, snapping flippers and the captivating combination of mechanics and electronics that make pinball irresistible. While it's the ultimate Sisyphean game-the eternal (and doomed) effort to keep an 80-gram, carbon-steel ball from going down the drainfor those who love it, it couldn't be more fun.
TAG Heuer Formula 1 | Kith
Many connect TAG Heuer with Formula 1 racing through the renowned Monaco watch, named for the Grand Prix held in that city.
My Favorite Cigar
Cigar aficionados describe their smoke of choice
A Trinidad Celebration
One of Cuba's star cigar brands commemorates 55 years with anniversary smokes
Gentlemen 1919 A CIGAR HIDEAWAY IN PARIS
In the front, there are hair cutters; in the back, cigar cutters.
A HIGH STEAKS GAME
Gallaghers restaurant, New York's oasis for carnivores, has thrived for 96 years, playing host to a colorful crowd of sports heroes, show people and classic characters
SHORT BUT SWEET
Golf courses traditionally are played on 18 holes, but a new crop of exciting shorter courses from top-name designers might just be the big new thing in golf
A Major Celebration - pro golfer and cigar lover Xander Schauffele was ready to unwind after winning the PGA Championship in May
Cigars are meant for celebration, so when pro golfer and cigar lover Xander Schauffele was ready to unwind after winning the PGA Championship in May, he lit up.It was a time of immense relief. Despite being a marquee name in golf, with a Gold Medal and a Ryder Cup among his wins, the 30-year-old Schauffele was haunted by another distinction: the back-handed compliment of being on the list of the best golfers never to win a major. He had come ohso-close in many majors, finishing second twice, and seven times in the top 10. But in May, when his final putt-just over six feet in length-dropped for a birdie, the wait was over. He raised both arms in celebration, a huge smile spreading across his face. He was finally a major champion.
Leader of the Lost Boys
Mike Rypka loves smoking cigars with his friends so much, he bought his neighbor's house and transformed it into a smoking lounge
