Matchmaker: Justin Thomas links Wie with Jerry West's son
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Major champion. FedEx Cup champion. And now Justin Thomas has another title.
Matchmaker for Michelle Wie and Jonnie West.
Wie, the golf prodigy from Hawaii and former U.S. Women’s Open champion, revealed on Instagram this week she was engaged to West, the Golden State Warriors’ director of basketball operations and the son of NBA great Jerry West.
And it all started with an exchange of text messages.
“They both asked me about each other,” Thomas said.
Thomas has been close friends with Wie in South Florida, where they both live. She made him a red, white and blue pair of shoes after Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship that had “major” on the heel of one shoe and “champ” on the heel of the other.
A few years ago, he stayed at the home of Jerry West — in Jonnie’s old room — during the PGA Tour stop at Riviera when the former Lakers star was the tournament’s executive director. Thomas came to know Jonnie West when he went to Warriors games.
“I don’t know Jonnie really, really well, but I know him well enough to know he’s a really good dude and a hard worker, and I know Michelle would appreciate that,” Thomas said. “And I know he’s over 6-foot, which is a necessity for Michelle. And Michelle is the best. She can get along with anybody.
Thomas is not sure how they first connected. Wie, who has been coping with a wrist injury, graduated from Stanford and spends plenty of time in the Bay Area.
“They both — literally within the hour — asked me about the other one,” Thomas said. “I said, ‘Yeah, she’s great, he’s great. You guys should meet up.’ She goes out west a lot. He’s obviously in San Francisco. She was like, ‘All right, I’m going to meet up with him.’
“I’m not going to lie,” Thomas said with a laugh. “I didn’t think it would turn into that. But I’m glad it did.”
West and Wie did not mention a wedding date in the Instagram post , though Thomas suggested it would be this summer during the PGA Tour’s lucrative FedEx Cup playoff events.
“She wants me to marry them,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to. We were talking about it, and I don’t think the dates are going to work out. She wants me to skip a (FedEx Cup) playoff event.”
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