Thomas missing Tiger's presence at Augusta National: 'We hate it'

Justin Thomas is missing good friend Tiger Woods at the Masters as he prepares for his sixth attempt at winning a green jacket.

"Playing the practice rounds with him for sure," Thomas said on Tuesday about what he misses the most with Woods not in the tournament.

Thomas, Woods, and Fred Couples have somewhat of a tradition of playing practice rounds together in recent years, but this week will be different.

"We texted Friday morning, and he said it's kind of starting to set in," Thomas said. "He's bummed he's not here playing practice rounds with us, and we hate it, too.

"I'm very, very lucky that I somehow got thrown into that practice round group with Tiger and Freddie the last four years or whatever it is, especially around this place, I just follow them around like puppy dogs. Wherever they go, that's where I go after it. If they hit chips from somewhere, I go hit chips from there."

Thomas said Couples bailed on their plan for an early Tuesday practice round because of the cold weather. He hopes they can reconnect on Wednesday to feel some sense of normalcy.

"I don't know if he would have bailed on me if Tiger was with me, but he did on me," Thomas said. "So hopefully I'll get to hang out with him tomorrow."

Thomas tees off Thursday alongside Tony Finau and Louis Oosthuizen at 1:48 p.m. ET.