Justin Thomas reveals melanoma scare, encourages others to get checked

Justin Thomas revealed Thursday he had a recent scare with melanoma that was discovered when he had a mole on his left leg checked out.

Thomas, who won the BMW Championship last month, shared a photo on Instagram that showed an incision and stitches on his leg. When a dermatologist checked out a very small mole on his leg, it was caught in the early stages of melanoma, Thomas wrote.

"Luckily, we found it at a time where there should be no problems going forward," he wrote. "That being said, EVERYBODY GO GET CHECKED!! No harm can come from it and it's the best way to catch anything before it becomes a serious issue. Especially for all the junior golfers (and other athletes) spending so much time in the sun.

CANCER:Golden Knights D Shea Theodore says he was treated for testicular cancer

"It is so important to make sure you're monitoring your body - no matter how old you are or how much sunscreen you use. It really got my attention, and hoping it does the same to y'all!"

It has been a challenging year for Thomas, who missed the PGA Championship with a wrist injury. After the Masters, he took off six weeks to heal and played three weeks in a row, starting with the Memorial. He missed the cut at the Memorial and two weeks later at the U.S. Open. At the British Open, he tied for 11th, his best result since February.

At Medinah, Thomas watched his six-shot shrink to two on Sunday, but he held on for a 68 to win by three shots over Patrick Cantlay. It was Thomas' 10th PGA Tour victory of his career and earned him a two-shot advantage heading into the Tour Championship.

At East Lake, Thomas couldn't make the lead stand up as he opened with rounds of 70-68 to give up the lead to Brooks Koepka after the second round. Thomas would finish with a 72-hole total of 13 under to tie for third, five shots back of Rory McIlroy.