Justin Thomas hopes to visit Leeds in their return to the English Premier League – but the golf star has admitted he wasn’t aware of the 49ers’ takeover at Rangers. Thomas and his compatriot Jordan Spieth got involved as the American group moved in to take charge of affairs at Elland Road The USA Ryder Cup star admits he was recently ribbed by Sheffield United fan Matt Fitzpatrick about going to a game now they have won promotion to back to England's big time. But, when asked about the 49ers now also taking over at Rangers, Thomas was honest and confessed he didn’t know about it. When initially quizzed about any involvement, he said: “With Leeds United, yeah.” The enquiry was then clarified as it was pointed out the group had also taken charge at Ibrox, to which Thomas replied: “They have? No, I didn’t see, that’s awesome. It’s all very cool. I’m still learning. I’m definitely not going to act like I’m an expert [on football] by any means. I played with Fitzpatrick. "I know I didn’t bring anything up for sure, but him and his caddy were giving me a hard time. He was like: You going to try to go to a [Leeds] game? I was like: Yeah, I’d love to. They were like: Oh, of course you are now they’re in the Premier League! So they were giving me a hard time! But, no, it’s been cool to be a part of.” Thomas was then asked if he had been aware of the Rangers takeover and responded: “No, I didn’t. I was not. I’m sure I should have known that and whatnot, but no, I didn’t see.” Naturally, given their link to Leeds, there was a general outside perception that Thomas and Spieth may subsequently also be involved in some way with the 49ers’ involvement at Rangers with an assumption made. When that was put to him, Thomas said: “I just don’t know enough to probably give you enough information on it. "It’s not like if you’re, say, a part of like a VC firm that is like: Hey, I want to go with this firm who’s putting in all of these different things. It’s not necessarily like, you know, I’m a part of the 49ers group. I’m part of Leeds United that 49ers group is a part of.” In total, there are now six Scottish top-flight clubs owned by Americans. On why there may be an attraction, he said: “You’re asking the wrong guy. I’m not sure. I’m sure like the rest or everybody else, they’re seeing the opportunity and the interest, you know, globally. So that’s my guess.” While openly admitting he's no footballing expert, Thomas is fully versed on the Genesis Scottish Open and the key work which can be done in build-up to next week at Royal Portrush. He said: “It’s huge. I don’t know what the stats are exactly, but I’m pretty sure a pretty fair amount of Open champions have played the Scottish the week prior. I think it’s helped me a lot. There’s a lot of little things that you can’t emulate at home for us. “All the different little lies around the greens and how the ball reacts. In the States, it’s just that the ball sits very similar all the time. Out of the rough, it comes out very similar, especially on the fairway. You can make and do what you want. Here, you’re given whatever the lie gives you and then you have to go from there and adjust. I just feel like it requires a lot of different strategy and adjusting. “I love it. It just takes a couple of days to get acclimated with everything and, obviously, the turf, the wind, everything. A lot of the guys are doing the same thing I am, so it’s always exciting to be playing links golf. Obviously, I’m sure two or three weeks would be better, but I’ve never felt like I’ve gotten to the Open and have felt unprepared for links. It’s just more of executing and just playing well enough at that point, I think.” Thomas, meanwhile, gave a huge positive to the appointment of Gary Woodland as a Ryder Cup vice-captain just two years after a life-threatening operation to remove a brain tumor. He said: “He’s great. I love Gary. I hate to give him credit, but he’s been a great role model of mine! He’s always been super, super nice to me since I’ve been on Tour. Everybody loves Gary, especially with what he’s gone through, but he’s also very competitive and he’s obviously still trying to compete and win tournaments out here, which is cool. “I think this is a different get-up in terms of the captain and vice-captains, but I think it’s a new wave and all of us are excited. It’s huge. I think nobody can relate or understand everything that he went through, but he’s fought hard and it’s awesome to see him back and playing some good golf.” Thomas is likely to be in the team at Bethpage, but added: “I have a lot of golf between now and then, so, obviously, I’m excited for the opportunity to get to play on the team. There’s a lot of golf between now and then and my goal is just to make that team on points so I don’t have to necessarily worry about a pick. I have some big tournaments, a major championship and FedExCup to still play for, so that’s what I’m focused on now and, when the time comes for the Ryder Cup, we’ll focus on that.”