“I won't be eating it": Defending champion Justin Thomas reveals why he won’t be eating his own champions dinner

The 105th edition of the PGA Championship is just around the corner and the stakes are high for the last year's winner, Justin Thomas. Not only does he face pressure to defend his title on the course but he is also creating the menu for the Champions Dinner.

Being the 2022 PGA Championship winner, Thomas created an elaborate menu for the Champions Dinner.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote:

“We got seafood salad, baked clams and a house salad. For the main course, as a massive chicken parm fan, as you are, I didn’t want to have three chicken dishes, so I’m doing a penne vodka, the Rao’s meatballs, of course, the pork chop with the hot and sweet cherry peppers. And then for dessert, we have Rao’s NY-style cheesecake and some mixed berries."

The menu is enough to make anyone drool over it. However, Thomas will not be enjoying the Champions Dinner. After being quizzed on why in an interview, he said:

"I won't be eating it. I'll have gluten-free pasta and I'll just have stuff that doesn't have any gluten or dairy in it. It's more for everybody else than it is for me."

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Defending Champion Justin Thomas under pressure at the 2023 PGA Championship

Justin Thomas (Image via Getty)

Justin Thomas has been on a rather strict diet since the Mexico Open. The golfer is planning to go one year without gluten and six months without dairy. Speaking about how hard it has been to control his diet, Thomas said via Golf Week:

“I want a pizza like you cannot imagine. Like, I would do some really messed up things for a pizza just doused in ranch."

While he cannot eat his Champions Dinner, Justin Thomas is surely gearing up for another win at the PGA Championship. The pressure is on the defending champion, as Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm enter the PGA Championship as the favorites to win.

The field for the PGA Championship is a tough one. 99 of the top 100 players will be on course. This includes 17 LIV Golf players, including Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson.

For Thomas, there are some key rules that he will be following going into the Championship. He said:

"Driving the ball, very important and I think that inside 10 feet putting is going to be huge. And then it's just about salvaging pars and kind of making those putts and up and down so maintain momentum."

The 2023 PGA Championship will be held between May 18 and 21 at the Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.