Justin Thomas will potentially feel that he should have won a 16th title on the PGA Tour after finishing second at the ZOZO Championship for the second time in his career last week.
Justin Thomas was one of the big names in the field for the ZOZO Championship in Japan, and he went on to finish one shot back of Nico Echavarria. And it was arguably clear what cost the 31-year-old.
Many felt that only a cold putter stopped Thomas winning the event. He only made one bogey all week, with no blemishes coming in his last three rounds. And yet, he was only able to make one birdie on the back nine on Sunday, with nothing seemingly prepared to drop for the two-time major champion.
Obviously, this stage of the season is not as important for the PGA Tour‘s best players. But it would have been significant had Thomas won at Narashino given that he has not won in well over two years.
Justin Thomas springs surprise with comments at the ZOZO Championship
Thomas seemed to suggest ahead of the final round that his previous victories stood him in good stead for Sunday. But speaking on Golf Channel, Rex Hoggard hinted that it was almost naive to think that those wins would help him out given how much he has struggled since winning the PGA Championship in 2022.
“I think you can take the entire season as a sample size when it comes to JT, and he’s clearly moving in the right direction. He made it all the way to East Lake. Now, granted he was in that 30th spot which isn’t where you want to be, but just making it to The Tour Championship I think is an accomplishment for any player on the tour. And you look at what he did well last week, it’s what he’s been doing well for the last few weeks,” he said.
“He picked up almost two and a half shots on the field tee to green, and that’s what he does well when he’s playing his best golf. However, you go into that final stretch, his final 12 holes he only played them in one under par. So clearly, something is missing, and that something is no mystery, it’s that he’s not putting well enough. He picked up strokes tee to green, and then lost over two strokes on the greens. That’s something he’s going to have to square away.
“I will say I was taken by some of his comments on Saturday night, going into the final round, talking about, ‘yes, it’s been a minute since I’ve won on the PGA Tour’, but after having won 15 events, he feels like he remembers how to do it. I think it’s much more difficult when you’ve gone two plus years since winning your last PGA Tour event to get back into that flow and to feel comfortable. He’s clearly not comfortable there yet.”
Why Thomas may have actually struggled to find that extra gear on Sunday
Thomas obviously would have wanted to win. Any golfer at that level has a remarkable amount of determination, and you only need to look at how Thomas has conducted himself in the Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup to know just how competitive he is.
However, if there was ever a time where Thomas may struggle to find that extra gear, it is perhaps in this kind of event. He has not played for several weeks, and will not play again for some time – particularly as he has a child on the way in the near future. So it is going to be difficult for Thomas to build any momentum at this stage of the year.
Thomas’ career is not going to be remembered for what he achieves at the ZOZO Championship. He has won two major titles and The Players Championship, and there are probably going to be several more big titles to come.
So he will surely take a lot more from the positive signs in Japan rather than the fact that he did not end that wait for a win.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
