PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Justin Thomas returned to competitive golf Monday night, shaking off rust in simulator competition at TGL before announcing his PGA TOUR season debut will come in a week's time at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

Thomas, playing in the tech-infused league for his defending TGL champion Atlanta Drive, made his first competitive appearance since undergoing a microdiscectomy in November to address a disc issue that caused what he described as “nagging hip pain” for several months.

Following the match, Thomas said he will make his TOUR season debut at Bay Hill Club & Lodge, one of the marquee and most difficult Signature Events on the schedule.

“I’m excited to get back and play Bay Hill next week,” he said.

The Orlando-area crowd will welcome back the 16-time TOUR winner, who makes his return after — understandably — showing signs of rust Monday night at the SoFi Center near his home base in Jupiter, Florida.

Thomas’ first live shot was an iron that sailed over the green and into a bunker. Later, he pulled an iron hard left on the fifth hole and hit an approach long into a penalty area on the ninth, conceding the hole.

“It was not very good on my end,” Thomas said about his play Monday. “I think it took me a little bit to get in a rhythm and kind of get comfortable. All last year I kept trying to hit a cut and I just couldn’t hit a cut, so I just started to basically play a pull hook.”

There were encouraging signs, particularly with the driver. His second shot of the night was a 311-yard drive that reached 177 mph ball speed. On the 11th hole, he turned it up to touch 180 mph on the speedometer. He also executed a highlight-reel tee shot on the popular hole “Stinger,” launching it at a tactical 2.5-degree angle to fly under the rocks.

Asked if his speed was back to where he wanted it coming off injury, Thomas said: “It’s pretty close to normal. The rehab has been good. I’ve been, I guess, kind of fully cleared or back to normal, whatever that is, for around three-and-a-half-ish weeks. So it’s really just been about getting used to playing more.”

He missed several birdie opportunities but rolled in the clinching putt in Atlanta Drive’s victory over Boston Common.

Thomas said he has been able to practice normally for at least a month, but acknowledged the adjustment back to competition.

“I’m trying to play a lot more, but I’ll still run into stuff here and there," he continued. "… It was my first time hitting it in a fairway bunker, and I’m like, 'I haven’t hit a fairway bunker shot in four months.'

"So just trying to play, get out there as often as I can, different winds, different grasses, different lies, different scenarios, and obviously would love to play well next week, but I’m also understanding that it’ll be almost five, six months since I played a competitive tournament. So I’m not exactly expecting anything great, but at least everybody else will be struggling with me at Bay Hill. So that’ll make me feel a little bit better.”

Thomas has made four career starts at Bay Hill, with his best finish a tie for 12th in 2024.

A major concern when undergoing surgery for players is the ability to return to form. “Swing DNA” is a common term among TOUR locker rooms, and how each player’s distinct physical swing traits define how they play the game.

“I’m still gonna have a lot of the same DNA and characteristics,” Thomas said. “I think there are little things that have maybe changed over the last couple of years, that could have potentially caused an injury. A lot of it is wear and tear for all of us, and I’ve done a lot of reading and research, and understanding that a lot of golfers have a very similar situation, but it just affects everybody totally differently.

"Some people have no nerve pain. The fact that my dad has no nerve pain, like, I can’t believe I got a back surgery before my dad did.”

He emphasized that durability is now the priority.

“I have to do the little things and stay on top of it, and playing injury-free is my main goal and always has been," he added. "And it was unfortunate, but it is what it is, and I’m just gonna make the best out of it and do the right things.

"I still have another, you know, 12, 15 years of great golf ahead of me.”