Justin Thomas fired a sparkling round of 10-under par 61 at the RBC Heritage on Thursday, after experiencing an underwhelming Masters tournament last week.
The 31-year-old American finished up in a tie for 36th at The Masters, after finishing the championship at two-over par.
Justin Thomas spoke about the extreme pressure at The Masters, but he also admitted that it is nothing in comparison to the Ryder Cup.
After his round at Harbour Town Links on Thursday, Justin Thomas will now be confident of qualifying automatically for the US Ryder Cup team.
The Europeans will be desperate to defend their trophy at Bethpage Black later this year in September.
With an in-form Justin Thomas bursting back onto the scene though, they may well have their work cut-out.
Justin Thomas comments on ‘strange’ build up to the The Masters
Leading up to The Masters, Max Homa split with his long-term caddie Joe Greiner.
Greiner then picked up Thomas’s bag at The Masters, but seemingly only on a temporary basis.
And the PGA Tour star spoke to the media about his relationship with his temporary new bag-man, broadcast on Sky in the UK.
He was asked how long it can take to forge a strong understanding with a caddie:
“You could argue forever. That’s what’s fun about teams and partnerships out there, we’re always working to try and improve. It definitely was a strange Masters week for both of us, just trying to prepare for the golf tournament, and also get the situation figured out. But I love Joe, I was very fortunate he was able to help out and we had a lot of fun out there.”
There obviously wasn’t any teething problems between Thomas and Greiner around Harbour Town Links on Thursday!
The real reason why Justin Thomas was angry with Netflix
Back in 2023, Thomas had to rely on a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup out in Italy.
Zach Johnson received strong criticism for not picking the in-form Keegan Bradley instead of Thomas at the time.
And Thomas was unhappy with how Netflix’s ‘Full Swing’ documentary focused in on him as a captain’s pick, when there were five others who were selected by Zach Johnson as well, as quoted by The Mirror:
“It was tough to watch, but it’s the reality. If you compare our seasons, Keegan deserved that spot more than I did.
“It (Netflix) made it seem like it was the only captain’s pick. But there are six picks, and while several were considered locks, the final couple of spots were more up for grabs.“
Judging by the way that Justin Thomas played during his first round at the RBC Heritage on Thursday, he won’t have the same worries ahead of the Ryder Cup this year.
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