Justin Thomas could not have done a whole lot more without actually winning on the PGA Tour with his recent form, with the two-time major champion most recently finishing second at the Valspar Championship.
At one stage on Sunday at the Valspar Championship, it appeared that Justin Thomas was on the verge of ending a wait of more than two years for a victory on the PGA Tour. The 31-year-old led by three shots at one stage down the back nine.
However, Thomas would make a bogey on 16 and 18 to present Viktor Hovland with the chance to produce a late charge to win by one.
It was an agonising finish for Thomas. But he can take a number of positives having also finished second at the ZOZO Championship and The American Express over the last six months.
Brandel Chamblee suggests the shot Justin Thomas has rarely had during his career after his second place at the Valspar Championship
However, the problems he caused himself off the tee on two of the final three holes at Innisbrook is a cause for concern for some.
And speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, Brandel Chamblee suggested that Thomas suffered for not having a reliable fairway finder down the stretch – a shot that he has lacked throughout his entire career.
“I look at Justin Thomas, he’s had three second place finishes in his last six tournaments, something like that. To me, he’s getting ready to be a lion just coming out of a cage roaring. He’s getting ready to kick some ass, which is great to see that he’s kind of back. He’s kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together again. And going down a rabbit hole of his golf swing, going back a few years ago, he would give anything to get back to where he was in 2021. And so it’s good to see that he’s put the pieces of the puzzle back together,” he said.
“Every golfer’s dealing with some weakness somewhere pretty much. And with JT, it’s driving accuracy. If he was sitting here right now, he’d admit as much. He’s never really had, and this is crazy to say about somebody’s who’s won prolifically, in majors, in the Players, he’s done it all, at this age into the Hall of Fame, but I wouldn’t say that he’s ever really had that stinger shot that Tiger had. Got to hit it in the fairway, shot for your life, and that’s where 16, 18, those are really tough driving holes. But you’ve got to put it in the fairway, and he didn’t do it.”
The change Justin Thomas tried to make to his driving back in 2020
Thomas has such a powerful-looking swing. But he has had a number of issues off the tee in the opening months of the year, with the American 108th in strokes gained off the tee on the PGA Tour.
Interestingly, he has previously spoken about taking distance off his driver to ensure that he hits more fairways. Back in 2020 at The Northern Trust, Thomas was asked about the amount of wins that year from players outside the top 100 for distance. And he suggested that he was looking to be more accurate himself.
“I think the fact that three guys have won multiple times this year being outside the top hundred in distance just proves yet again that you don’t need distance. Yeah, it’s helpful, but it makes me cringe and it really bothers me when whoever says that, you know, the golf ball or everything needs to be rolled back because there’s plenty of people that are still performing well that don’t hit it as far. I mean, Brendon Todd has his game so well managed and knows exactly what to do. I mean, I have more ball speed maybe with a 5-wood than he does a driver, and that’s extremely impressive, and that’s why he’s on the Tour and one of best players in the world and this year. That’s why it is what it is. Length is an advantage,” he said.
“But in terms of for me looking at it, I dialed back in distance with a driver and a shaft just to hit a couple more fairways around. I carry it probably five, eight yards shorter than I did maybe one or two years ago, but I have a little bit more spin so I can control my ball flight a little bit more and I’m just trying to play from the fairway more because I feel with my iron game, if I get in the fairway, I can win more tournaments. Yeah, it is quite an interesting stat. I loved it when I saw it because that just kind of proves yet again that length is not the answer. It’s just helpful. Still got to get the ball in the hole.”
Unfortunately, he finds himself out of the top 100 for driving accuracy in 2025. So that may be something which he looks to make drastic improvements on during major championship season.
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