Justin Thomas has reaffirmed his support for the PGA Tour policy board but admitted his focus right now is on rediscovering his form following a poor season.
The Tour is currently locked in negotiations with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), with commissioner Jay Monahan set to meet with PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan next week.
Meanwhile, reports have also suggested the Tour is close to agreeing a deal with a consortium of US sports team owners. The latter deal is believed to be worth around $3 billion and will see the Tour work alongside a group of well-known billionaire team owners in the United States.
Any such deal will have to be ratified by the PGA Tour policy board, which features several players including Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay. Thomas was full of praise for those working hard to conclude the deal, but admitted his focus was elsewhere after a tricky season which saw him miss out on the FedEx Cup playoffs.
"I mean, I have faith and I have trust. I understand I get updated maybe from time to time but I have bigger and better things to worry about, to be selfish and honest," Thomas said, speaking ahead of the PNC Championship.
"My golf is, and I shouldn't say more important because the future of the PGA Tour is more important, but selfishly for me, my golf is [more important]. And I know that those guys are willing to pick up the phone and talk to anybody if they want. They just have to call them, and I just haven't really had the desire to do that much. I've got faith and trust in them."
Reports in recent weeks had claimed that Cantlay was single-handedly driving negotiations and had formed an alliance with Spieth and Woods as they looked to secure a preferential deal. Fellow board member Spieth leapt to Cantlay's defence and Thomas reaffirmed that notion and thanked the World No. 5 for his work.
"I have so much respect for those guys on the board and the amount of time and effort that they have put in, and the families for allowing it and being good with it," he added.
"It's been frustrating on my end, as a player, to see the things that Patrick Cantlay has had said about him. I understand Patrick is who he is, but he's beyond busted his ass to get the Tour in the best place possible along with the rest of the guys on the PGA Tour board to make things the best possible place for us players going forward."
Thomas is appearing in this week's PNC Championship as he gears up for the start of the 2024 season. Although the American has endured a difficult 12 months, the World No. 25 is hopeful he can learn from the experience and get back to his best in the new year.
"I learned a lot this past season. The number one thing is things are never as bad as people make them out to be. At times I was just a couple putts, shots, swings, here and there away from at least having a chance of making a run in the Playoffs," Thomas ended.
"But it's a fine line out here. Obviously, I did not have a very good year in terms of my standards, but it wasn't maybe at the -- where the results ended up. I think we both tried to do a better job of keeping it simple and playing golf but also keeping an eye on things that maybe got away from us."
