- The Washington Times - Thursday, May 14, 2020

World No. 4 golfer and one-time major championship winner Justin Thomas will follow Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in having his face on the cover of an official PGA Tour video game.

Thomas was named the cover athlete for “PGA Tour 2K21,” which will release Aug. 21. First announced last week, it’s the tour’s first official game since 2015.

“Being chosen to be the first-ever cover athlete for the premiere PGA Tour 2K game is a tremendous honor,” Justin Thomas said in a press release. “I’m excited to join the 2K family and challenge players everywhere on the digital links.”

The series once was published by EA Sports and bore Woods’ name and likeness every year, unlike other sports video games that designated new cover athletes with each new edition.

But EA Sports stopped publishing yearly “PGA Tour” releases after “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” came out in 2015 to mixed reviews. This will be the first “PGA Tour” title published by 2K Sports.

2K Sports did publish a golf video game in 2018 called “The Golf Club 2019 featuring the PGA Tour,” but it only had six real-life courses at launch and no player likenesses.

The trailer, released Thursday, shows several PGA Tour tournaments, including The Players’ Championship, the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Valspar Championship, the Valero Texas Open and the Tour Championship. The game will feature a career mode centered on trying to win the FedEx Cup, and a golf course creator mode (like a similar one from “The Golf Club 2019”) also appears to be in the game.

It is unclear whether Woods will be playable. The game’s website says Thomas and 11 other PGA Tour players will be featured.

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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