Justin Thomas will be able to take plenty of positives from his trip to Japan for the ZOZO Championship, as the 31-year-old made his first appearance since The Tour Championship back in early September.
Justin Thomas was unable to secure his first victory since 2022 at the ZOZO Championship, but the two-time major champion finished in a tie for second, one shot back of Nico Echavarria on 19 under par.
It has been a difficult 2024 season for Thomas, with no top fives after the Travelers Championship until this week. And that culminated in Thomas missing out on receiving a pick for the Presidents Cup from Jim Furyk ahead of Royal Montreal.
But there were much better signs in the past few days. Thomas made just one bogey across his four rounds at Narashino. And many felt that Thomas would have won had his putter been on fire on Sunday, with barely anything dropping for him, particularly on the back nine.
Justin Thomas issues his verdict on the Japanese fans after the ZOZO Championship
Thomas has a fantastic record in the event, with this year proving to be the second time in three appearances that he has finished second. And speaking in his press conference after his round, he suggested that he really enjoys having the chance to play in front of the Japanese crowds.
“They were great. The Japanese fans all week were awesome. I wanted to obviously win it for myself, but I felt a lot of support from the fans out there, so it would’ve been cool to get it done, I felt for them a little bit,” he said.
“I always am very gracious and very happy to be able to come and play in front of the Japanese fans, and they’re always so nice, so hospitable. It’s always a treat to be able to come here and play.”
A potential turning point
It remains to be seen if this proves to be a turning point for Thomas. Ultimately, there have been a handful of false dawns throughout the year which have come to little.
He began the Scottish Open with a 62 in his opening round before posting three scores in the 70s. Meanwhile, there were nine shots between his second and third best rounds at The Open Championship the following week.
So he will be pleased that he was so consistent in Japan this week. Clearly, there is a lot more work to be done before he is back at the top of the leaderboard on a consistent basis, but the signs are encouraging.
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