There are few players in professional golf that hold themselves to higher standards than Justin Thomas. That’s part of what makes a great golfer like Thomas so incredibly great. He has high expectations of himself and his talent on the golf course. But it can be a double-edged sword from time to time and in Saturday’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Thomas missed a short putt. He was furious with himself and was caught on the hot mic cursing.
Thomas was probably swearing because he knows how much that stroke could cost him in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, one of the nicest golf courses on planet Earth. The former Alabama star has found his form in a big way recently, carding a T3 at the American Express. He also currently sits in T6 at Pebble Beach heading into Sunday (-13), just four strokes back of leader Wyndham Clark.
Clark was spectacular on Saturday, firing a -12 under 60 to move into first place. He’s currently one stroke ahead of Ludvig Aberg–a European phenom from Sweden.
Thomas has fired three excellent rounds of 67-68-68 to put himself in contention heading into Sunday.
It’s got to feel great for him finally returning to his elite form, after an uncharacteristically disappointing 2023. He’s rounding into form two months ahead of The Masters. Augusta National is a course that Thomas has gone on record and said how much he loves it and how much it suits his game. His best finish there was a T4 in 2020. He also had a T8 finish there in 2022.
Thomas has turned things around after a disappointing 2023
Thomas was a captain’s selection for the Ryder Cup for Team USA in 2023, despite posting disappointing results on the course.
He missed the cut for three of the four major championships in 2023 (The Masters, U.S. Open and Open Championship). He finished in a tie for 65th in the PGA Championship.
Because of those struggles, Thomas also missed out on the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in his career. Following the disappointing campaign, the two-time major winner fired off a tweet.
“Can use adversity as an opportunity to shy away from a challenge, or take it head on,” Thomas wrote. “Was a tough season for me, but I actually had fun battling it out and playing golf this week. It’s why we play. Beyond gutted to miss the playoffs, but I’m proud of how hard I fought #onward.”
Dustin Schutte also contributed to this article.
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