Justin Thomas spoke publicly on Wednesday for the first time since losing his sponsor Ralph Lauren last week following the fallout from his public use of a homophobic slur.

Justin Thomas explains loss of sponsor Ralph Lauren to Abu Dhabi

Justin Thomas - © Nine Bridges via Wikimedia Commons - Creative Commons License

For his first public appearance since being fired by his sponsor, Thomas answered questions from reporters Wednesday at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. One of the questions was about Thomas' use of insult after missing a putt at the Sentry Tournament of Champions on January 9.

"I am clearly not proud of what I said"Thomas said Wednesday. " It's humiliating. It's embarassing. It is not me. It's not a word I use, but for some reason it came out of my mouth and I'm trying to figure out why. "

Ralph Lauren announced in a statement Friday, six days after the incident filmed, that he was ending his relationship with Thomas. The designer, however, left the door open for Thomas to return to the brand if he "Does the hard and necessary work" to question yourself.

The 13-time PGA Tour winner has spoken of his hopes to learn from his mistake on Wednesday and come out of it all.

"It will be part of this process, of this training program and of all that I have to do, to prove to myself, to my sponsors and to the people who don't know who I am, that it is not the person I am ”Thomas said.

Thomas begins his first round at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Thursday morning alongside Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood.

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