Spieth believes he can still claim Player of the Year

Justin Thomas is certainly the favorite to win PGA Tour Player of the Year for 2017, but his buddy Jordan Spieth still thinks he can make it interesting.

Thomas has five wins, including a major championship, while Spieth has two PGA Tour wins and a major this season. The 24-year-old Texan, however, believes a win at East Lake and the Fed Ex Cup title would make the vote rather intriguing.

"It would make it a tough call for other people if I were to win and win the FedEx Cup," Spieth told Will Gray of the Golf Channel. "You know, you start looking at the depth of the years, and how they compare. Justin, where he’s at right now, it’s harder for anybody to beat him in my mind. But I could make it difficult."

Each player on the PGA Tour has a vote for the season-ending awards, and Spieth said he'd have to do some deep analysis before making his decision, especially with what Thomas has achieved this year.

"That would be tough. I’d have to sit back and kind of, I would have to be neutral," Spieth said. "I’d have to look statistically at the entire year that we just had, because I don’t know it. The guy shot 59 this year, and shot 63 at the U.S. Open. He’s had some awards mid-year that I haven’t had this year, but we’ll see."

The Tour Championship begins Thursday in Atlanta.