Molly Grace Thomas was born on November 18, 2024. Since then, her dad, Justin Thomas, has been busy juggling professional golf and fatherhood. In the past few months, though, the two-time major champion has been homebound recovering from his surgery. And that made him realize who is the strongest in his family.

Joining The Smylie Show, Thomas told Smylie Kaufman, “Jill being home more and obviously, carrying Molly more. I’ve said to her a couple of times this week. I don’t get how you do it. No Offense, I’m stronger than you are. But if I hold her for five minutes… Your mom’s strength is real. I’m not built for it, apparently. I’m not going to fully blame that. But definitely working on my form as I pick her up.”

While Thomas may have asked how his wife has more strength, he answered it himself.

She’s home more often and has been conditioned to carry her daughter easily. On the other hand, Thomas stays away from home playing tournaments four days a week. So he doesn’t get the opportunity to connect with Molly as much.

However, Thomas understands where his expertise lies.

His knowledge about his limitations in the field has helped him recover to the fullest for the 2026 Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I know in golf, I can be competitive and hopefully win tournaments for another 12-15 years. The goal was to get this completely behind me and not have to worry about it anymore,” shared Justin Thomas.

During the interview, Kaufman mentioned that he was surprised to see Thomas bend down to lift Molly. To that, the PGA Tour pro said that he has now reached a stage where he doesn’t feel pain if that happens.

After his surgery in November 2025, the 32-year-old knew he would need to work hard and be patient to reach full fitness. And he found a way to keep himself connected to golf.

Justin Thomas’ road to recovery

No bending, lifting, or twisting for two weeks; these were the rules set for Justin Thomas.

He went through the rehabs for a quick recovery. So while he was not seen much a few days after his surgery, he did start actively working on himself soon after.

Thomas was seen swinging the ball a couple of months after his surgery. He wasn’t driving just yet. But the PGA Tour pro was seen using his iron on the fairway, hitting approach shots.

Then he finally confirmed his comeback event on the PGA Tour recently.

Since then, fans have seen him putting and following other drill routines to practice. At any point, he didn’t look like he was rushing. That might have helped him get better sooner.

Even then, the secret to a mother’s strength remained a mystery to him.