Rory McIlroy was in good spirits as he took a playful jab at Justin Thomas ahead of the pair teeing off in the US PGA Championship tomorrow.
The duo are joined by Brooks Koepka in the opening two rounds of the second major of the year, which gets underway at Kiawah Island on Thursday.
McIlroy won the second of his four major titles at the same course nine years ago when he stormed to the PGA Championship in 2012, winning by eight shots.
He was asked about the thrill of adding a second major title by reporters at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
He replied: "Yeah, it was huge," with a smile on his face - before laughing as he added: "A lot of guys have won one major, but it's a big hurdle to get to the second. It was good to get that monkey off my back, especially here, playing so well.
"So yeah, it was a big deal. I definitely didn't want to be stuck on one for a long time, so happy to get that second."
Why was that so funny? Because Justin Thomas was at the back of the room.
Thomas only has one major victory to his name so far.
He took the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in style back in 2017.
When offered the chance to respond to McIlroy's playful jibe, he played it cool
Thomas said: "I can't really say too much, other than it's great to see him win. I know it's been a really long time for him, so I'm glad to see him.
"But at the same time, I really don't want to egg him on because usually when he wins he likes to reel some off, and with a lot of big tournaments coming up I don't really want to poke the bear."
