Justin Thomas got back to his very best at the Scottish Open, carding an eight-under-par opening round to top the leaderboard.
The American has certainly not had his best year on the course, with the two-time major winner missing four of 14 cuts.
Two of those cuts arrived at the Masters and the US Open, with Thomas struggling for consistency on the tour.
He did, however, manage to finish tied-eighth at the PGA Championship, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he has won the title twice in his fantastic career.
The 31-year-old will now be desperate to produce a strong showing at The Open Championship next week.
Justin Thomas sinks 42-foot putt at the Scottish Open
Royal Troon Golf Club plays host to the event, with Thomas’ links golf game looking strong after his Scottish Open efforts.
There was, however, one shot that stood out during his fantastic opening round 62, with the American sinking a 42-foot birdie putt on the 12th.
And according to Justin Ray, it is Thomas’ longest putt made on the PGA Tour since round one of the 2022 Valspar Championship, which was 847 days ago.
Is Justin Thomas trying to impress Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley?
The bogey-free opening round should give Thomas plenty of confidence for the rest of the week, and indeed for The Open.
Aside from the lengthy putt on 12, the 15-time PGA Tour winner carded his lowest first round score since his 59 on way to the 2017 Sony Open title in Hawaii, as per the official PGA Tour website.
He was eyeing another 59 this time around, but got his calculations wrong, with Thomas saying: “I thought the par was 71, and then I looked up and saw even-par 70 and was like, ‘Oh, I just need a couple more [birdies] and I can shoot 59.’ And then shockingly, I made five pars in a row.”
Thomas’ focus will remain on Scotland for the time being, but the American will undoubtedly have one eye on next year’s Ryder Cup.
That is, at least, the view of many golf fans, who have suggested that Thomas raised his game at the Scottish Open in an attempt to impress Keegan Bradley.
The latter has just been appointed as Team USA’s captain for Bethpage Black, with Thomas predicting Bradley to be ‘great’ in the captaincy role.
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