Justin Thomas returned to action at Bay Hill two weeks ago, after a near six-month break from competitive golf.
Thomas underwent back surgery in November and he took his time in recovery to ensure that he was ready to play again, with being match-fit for The Masters the ultimate goal.
However, he played terribly at Bay Hill, shooting two rounds of 79 to finish dead last in the field.
Justin Thomas will never win a major again – change my mind
The good news is that the 32-year-old seriously turned things around at TPC Sawgrass, posting rounds of 68 and 68 on Thursday and Friday to head into the weekend right in the mix.
He fell away slightly with rounds of 72 and 72 on Saturday and Sunday, but still recorded a T-8 finish.
After Thomas’ seriously concerning showing at Bay Hill, he would have been delighted to bounce back so quickly at The Players.
The man from Louisville, Kentucky, is playing at The Valspar Championship this week, but it is unclear as to whether he will play any of the following two PGA Tour tournaments in the build-up to Augusta National.
It will be very interesting to see how he plays in Tampa this week because we will find out whether or not his performance at The Players was a complete one-off.
Johnson Wagner’s prediction about Justin Thomas at The Masters will be wrong
Johnson Wagner has been speaking about The Masters during an appearance on The Golf on CBS show.
He was asked who he thinks has a chance to win at Augusta National and his response will raise some eyebrows.
“I mean, I’m looking at Justin Thomas right now after he shot 79-79 at Bay Hill, I’m thinking he’s done,“ Wager said.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy, he’s just lost a year of his career’.
“And then watching him play the first two rounds (at The Players), I know he didn’t play great, 72-72 on the weekend, but a lot of players played worse.
“I think this is a great time of year for him. Obviously, he plays Valspar well. He plays Hilton Head the week after Augusta well.
“I think sneaky JT is gonna be a tough one to beat at Augusta, because I think he’s back and it’s, it happened a lot quicker than I was expecting.“
That is a seriously bold call from Wagner and perhaps one that he has not actually thought out that well at all.
Johnson Wagner could not be more wrong with his Justin Thomas prediction
Firstly, Thomas possesses a really poor record at Augusta National.
He only has two top-10 finishes to his name in 10 Masters appearances and he has missed the cut twice at Augusta.
He has proven time and time again that his game is not a great fit for Augusta National. On paper, it should be, but it just isn’t.
Make your early predictions, who is winning The Masters?
Positive signs already from Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy AND Jon Rahm!
Sure, the fairways are fairly wide at Augusta and the rough is non-existent. However, to attack pins that are placed on small sections of the greens, you have to not only be in the fairways, but the correct side of them.
Also, let’s not forget the enormous Georgia Pines that border almost every single fairway at Augusta National!
Thomas’ wild driving always seems to let him down at The Masters.
And for Wagner to suggest that Thomas could be ‘hard to beat’ at Augusta this year is quite frankly absurd.
Thomas has only played two tournaments since returning from back surgery and in my opinion, it would be a big shock if he finished inside the top-10 at The Masters, let alone win the tournament!
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