Justin Thomas. Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

Justin Thomas shakes off rust in impressive first round at Players Championship

By Jack Dougherty | Last updated Mar 12, 2026 4:01 PM ET

Justin Thomas looked completely out of sorts in his 2026 PGA Tour debut. The two-time major champion finished dead last at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in his first start since undergoing a microdiscectomy to address a disc issue in his back last year, but that may have been all he needed to shake off the rust.

Just a few days later, Thomas fired a 4-under 68 in the first round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He currently sits in a tie for second place behind only Maverick McNealy, who shot a 5-under 67.

It was a shocking bounce-back from Thomas, who had one of the worst performances of his career just last week. At the API, the American shot +14 in two rounds, ranking last in the 70-man field in strokes gained from off the tee, 69th in strokes gained from putting and 68th in strokes gained on approach. There were no positives to take away from his 2026 debut, and his confidence must have been at an all-time low.

But golf is a funny sport, and Thomas proved just that a few days later.

Justin Thomas shows signs of life at Players Championship

Justin Thomas’ opening 68 (-4) at The Players:

• 11 shots better than back-to-back 79s at Bay Hill last week
• 4 shots better than World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler
• Best career Round 1 at TPC Sawgrass

Just his 3rd round returning from back surgery. pic.twitter.com/Zz395u9svY
— Underdog Golf (@UnderdogGolf) March 12, 2026

Thomas bounced back in a big way at TPC Sawgrass in the first round of the Players Championship with six birdies and only two bogeys. He currently ranks eighth in the field in strokes gained from off the tee and fifth in strokes gained from putting.

What a difference a week makes.

"Yeah, it felt great," Thomas told reporters on Thursday after the round, per Flushing It. "Just feels great to get off to a great start at a big tournament, a tournament that I love. I always enjoy playing this place. I just feel like it's just a fun course to play.

"But yeah, I can't necessarily say I've been playing well because last week was my first tournament in six months, but I felt I was more than capable of doing that. But just was able to knock a little bit of rust off last—a lot of rust off last week, and obviously felt a lot more comfortable today."

Thomas candidly admitted he did "literally every single thing you could imagine" better than he did last week. It's a good thing he did, too, because another performance like the one we saw at the API would've raised even more questions about his chances at the Masters in April.

Thomas has seven missed cuts and just one finish better than T31 in his last 14 major championship starts, so he desperately needed to build some momentum heading into Augusta National. His first round at the Players Championship was a great start.

Jack Dougherty

Jack Dougherty has been writing professionally since 2015, contributing to publications such as GoPSUSports. com, Centre Daily Times, Associated Press, and Sportscasting. com

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