What every PGA Tour player would say about Justin Thomas’ pitching after he duffed two chips on Sunday at the Hero World Challenge

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Justin Thomas may have missed out on clinching the Hero World Challenge title, but the two-time major champion can take a number of positives from his performance at Albany this week.

Justin Thomas was initially a sponsor’s invite for the Hero World Challenge after a couple of disappointing years on the PGA Tour for the 31-year-old. However, he made the most of the opportunity and led after three rounds in the Bahamas.

Unfortunately, Thomas was not able to get himself across the line, with Scottie Scheffler able to remind everyone just how good he is as the world number one retained his title.

And Thomas made a couple of notable mistakes before the turn as Scheffler started to pull away. He mishit a chip on the second hole, failing to reach the green, and ended up making a bogey. And it was a fairly similar story on the ninth, as both Thomas and Scheffler looked to set up birdie chances.

How PGA Tour players would assess Justin Thomas’ pitching

Scheffler hit a superb pitch shot before moving himself to 20 under par. Thomas had a trickier angle and had to be much more precise, it seemed. However, he managed fluff his lines once again. Thankfully, he managed to salvage a par.

A lot of fans would have been baffled to see Thomas make such a mistake. However, speaking on Golf Channel, Smylie Kaufman insisted that the shot was a lot tougher than many would have realised.

“That wire up there, left of nine, I think every player goes and hits that shot before the week because it is some of the grainiest grass these guys face,” he said.

“But if you ask any PGA Tour player who’s one of the best pitchers out here, all of them pretty much would say Justin Thomas. That’s how difficult these shots are.”

The biggest strength in Thomas’ game

The statistics certainly back up the view of Thomas being one of the best around the greens. While he failed to win on the PGA Tour in 2024, he is near the top for both his approach play and his short game.

The big weakness in Thomas’ game has been his putting, while his driving could also be extremely erratic.

The good news is that he seemed be much more reliable on the greens throughout the Hero, and he was certainly hitting some brilliant drives.

The mishit pitches really put paid to his hopes of winning up against Scheffler. But his display this week suggests that the two are going to be battling on many more occasions over the coming months.