In 2016, Jordan Spieth needled Justin Thomas. Spieth couldn’t resist a jab and tweeted that his buddy was ‘ready to be known as more than my buddy.’ Like the universal tradition of beating your best friend in banter, Thomas fired back within minutes. ‘Bc people saying I’m your buddy, I don’t even like you,’ he wrote. That has been a running joke in their friendship for a decade now. Ten years later, their banter will return at Sedgefield Country Club.

Round 4 pairings dropped for the Wyndham Championship on Saturday night, and Justin Thomas has been grouped with Jordan Spieth once again. He didn’t need more than a few words to react. He posted the pairing sheet to his Instagram story and captioned it, “Brutal pairing tomorrow.”

Both Tour pros will tee off at 12 p.m. from Sedgefield Country Club at eight under, fighting to lock up a spot inside the top 70. Both are currently eight strokes behind the leader and aren’t competing to win, yet round 4 gives them a chance to improve their play before the FedExCup playoff events.

83% of our readers couldn't break par yesterday

Changing winds, tricky bunkers, and quirky breaks test every shot. Beat par, compare scores, and return tomorrow for a new challenge.

TEE OFF HERE↗

That said, Thomas calls the pairing “brutal.” Anyone who has followed the pairing for a decade knows exactly why. They spent years pushing each other, needling each other, and occasionally ruining each other’s Sundays!

Get the Essentially Golf Newsletter. The pulse of today's golf world — daily news from fairways across the globe and tips to improve your game.

Thomas and Spieth’s paths first crossed as young teenagers on the junior golf circuit, and their initial rivalry continued into college. In fact, Spieth’s Texas Longhorns squad beat Thomas’ Alabama Tide 3-2 at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. But what started as competition slowly turned into brotherhood.

That closeness has shown up in some of their biggest moments together on the PGA Tour. When Spieth and Thomas paired up at the 2022 Presidents Cup, the former didn’t hold back in describing what it meant to him. “It’s really fun, right? He’s my best friend in the whole world.” They went on to win their match together that week.

Putting aside their on-course banter, they’ve also saved each other’s performances. During a tense putt at the Presidents Cup in Charlotte, Thomas missed his approach, but Spieth bailed him out with a difficult chip. And the two were left needing a short putt to save the hole. When Justin Thomas later retold the story to Trey Wingo, he admitted his reaction wasn’t clean at the moment. “They had it two and a half feet or something, and Jordan looked at me like, ‘That’s good, right?’ And I said, ‘F*** no.'” Thomas was laughing when the camera caught every word of their banter.

Thomas and Spieth have quickly become one of golf fans’ favorite duos. At the 2025 Valspar Championship, the two played all the opening rounds together. It was the first time they shared a group for three straight tournament days since 2018. Spieth was clear in expressing what the moment meant to him. “At the end, I wanted to get to where I was tied with him just so we could play again tomorrow.” He also said that he always looks forward to beating him, keeping their friendship-rivalry alive.

Naturally, their friendship extends well beyond pairings, too. When Thomas got married, Spieth gave the best man’s speech. Hilariously speaking at the Subpar podcast, Thomas graded his performance afterward. “I got to give him an A-plus,” he said, laughing out loud, adding, Spieth somehow managed one job that mattered the most: not losing the rings!

Now they take their banter and rivalry to round four at Sedgefield. Which one of them will walk off a little more annoyed than usual remains to be seen.