Jack Nicklaus was left looking a bit sheepish after mistakenly congratulating Justin Thomas at a charity golf tournament before boarding a flight

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Jack Nicklaus accidentally congratulated Justin Thomas too early(Image: Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Jack Nicklaus landed in an awkward spot after he prematurely congratulated Justin Thomas during a high-stakes playoff at a charity golf event, prior to boarding his flight. Nicklaus made the mistake of sending a ‘well done’ text to the American golfer too early during a tense playoff match-up against Collin Morikawa.

In 2020, Thomas and Morikawa were tied at the Workday Charity Open, which was held at Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The Golden Bear was staying at his home in Florida but had planned to jet back to Ohio to meet the eventual champion.

With the final day’s tee times pushed forward due to weather predictions, Nicklaus found himself stepping onto his plane just as the pivotal moments of the tournament were unfolding.

Upon witnessing Thomas drain a phenomenal 50-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole, a thrilled Nicklaus quickly reached out to him with a celebratory text, as reported by Golf Digest.

Nicklaus said at the time: “Barbara and I both texted Justin and said to him, ‘Wow, what a fantastic putt, unbelievable fantastic super putt, can’t believe that you made that putt. Now you’ve got the chance to win two in a row.’”

Justin Thomas sank a putt and looked set to win the tournament(Image: David Cannon/Getty Images)

Yet, the tables turned as Morikawa responded with a remarkable 24-foot putt of his own to equal Thomas and continue the playoff, ultimately triumphing on the third additional hole.

Nicklaus added: “And then we got up in the air, and we picked up Wi-Fi after 10,000 feet, and we found out Morikawa won the tournament, and so I had to send him another text and say, ‘Oops, a little premature.’

“He was good about it. He texted back and he said, ‘All’s good, it’s OK.’”

Thomas’ classy response highlighted his true colours, as he didn’t take the celebratory blunder to heart. This display of sportsmanship came long before Rory McIlroy’s decision not to contact Nicklaus after joining him and an elite group of golfers.

Last month, Nicklaus disclosed that he hadn’t heard from McIlroy since he joined him in the hall of fame as one of six golfers to win the career Grand Slam. Notably, McIlroy did not attend May’s Memorial Tournament, run by Nicklaus, for the first time since 2017.

Rory McIlroy is yet to contact Nicklaus following his Masters win(Image: Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

In a conversation with AP, the 85-year-old expressed uncertainty about McIlroy’s absence from the event and mentioned he hadn’t spoken to the Northern Irishman since the Masters in April.

Nicklaus said: “I really don’t know why Rory didn’t talk to me. I can’t answer that question. There’s nothing I can answer. I know he has to make a schedule that works for him and what he has to do. And I understand, because I had to do the same thing. We just weren’t included this year.”

He went on to defend McIlroy, as he added: “I am not throwing Rory under the bus. I like Rory too much. He’s a good kid. He’s played some great golf. He’s had a lot of things that have happened to him. He’s got to make his own call on things.

“Could he have done them differently? Probably. But that’s all right. I could probably have done some of mine differently, too. I’m not complaining about Rory.”