Justin Thomas on missing World No.1: "I couldn't stop thinking about it"

Justin Thomas has revealed the weight of becoming World No.1 with victory over Bubba Watson in the semi-final of the WGC Match Play Championship was too much to handle on Sunday morning.

Thomas suffered a 3&2 loss at the hands of eventual winner Watson in their semi-final match, with Thomas then going on to lose out in the consolation match to Alex Noren 5&3 on Sunday evening. 

As a result, Thomas remains in the world number two spot behind Dustin Johnson, who now enjoys a 58th consecutive week at the summit.

"I haven't had such a hard time not thinking about something so much," a candid Thomas told reporters after his loss to Watson. 

"That really sucked. I couldn't stop thinking about it, to be perfectly honest. And I think you're constantly getting questions about it with the media, but I need to be mentally stronger than that, and understand that it's just a match."

Thomas has won eight times on the PGA Tour, with six of those victories including a maiden major at the US PGA coming since the start of 2017.

The 24-year-old American has a chance to become World No.1 in two weeks time at The Masters, alongside third-ranked Jon Rahm. 

Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose could also enter that race at The Masters should they finish high up the board in Houston this week.