Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth aim for resurgence at PGA Championship

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jordan Spieth is no stranger to playing with Justin Thomas. From practice rounds at major championships to alternate shot matches at the Ryder Cup, the two have almost always gone in tandem.

But this week, among the long, narrow fairways of Valhalla Country Club, Spieth has already noticed that the energy around his longtime friend and Louisville native is unique.

“I play a lot of golf with him,” Spieth said Tuesday. “Yesterday felt different.”

Park yourself outside the ropes at Valhalla during Thomas’ practice rounds and it doesn’t take much to see the hometown support Thomas is receiving. He was 7 years old when he attended the 2000 PGA Championship and watched Tiger Woods beat Bob May in a 3-hole playoff. And though his memories are vague, the feeling he had is still palpable.

“I remember being inspired, being in awe,” Thomas said this week. “Being a Tiger fan that I was, it was about as perfect of a week as I could have imagined. Not that you know what you want to do when you’re 7 years old, but I had a pretty good idea that I wanted to play golf.”

The galleries he was a part of 24 years ago are now his, this week perhaps more than ever. But much like they are at every tournament, the galleries are also always Spieth’s. With his free-swinging style and success early in his career, Spieth’s magnetism is still strong.

Aside from Woods and perhaps Rory McIlroy, Spieth and Thomas are still the most beloved household names that you will hear called out at any tournament.

Jordan. Justin. Spieth. JT. Their names all roll off the golf fan’s tongue, casual or die-hard, quite easily. These days, the noise that surrounds them, though, is more of a reminder of what was then than what is now.

Once they began winning tournaments and majors early in their careers, golf fans…