Justin Thomas endured a disastrous week at Bay Hill during the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week.
Thomas made his first start of the 2026 season in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and Bay Hill proved to be far too difficult for him in the end.
It was only back in November when Thomas underwent back surgery and that kept him away from competitive action until this week.
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Rory McIlroy said he was surprised Thomas returned to action at Bay Hill, given the difficulty of the golf course.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Thomas posted back-to-back scores of 79 at Bay Hill and he finished dead last in the field.
The two-time major champion should not panic after posting a score of 14-over-par for 36 holes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
However, there is one serious cause for concern. The fact that he shot two rounds of 79 will undoubtedly worry him, but it’s how he went about shooting seven-over-par on Thursday and Friday that was most worrying.
Thomas topped the rankings in one statistical category during the Arnold Palmer Invitational and that highlighted just how poor the other areas of his game were.
Why Justin Thomas should be concerned after finishing dead last at Bay Hill
Thomas was nowhere near ready to compete this week and that is completely understandable. He would not have expected to win but perhaps he will be shocked regarding how poor he actually was.
Not all departments of his game were in poor shape but that is why Thomas should be even more concerned after he missed the cut at Bay Hill.
The two-time PGA Championship winner was ranked first in strokes gained around the greens during the first two rounds of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He gained more than four strokes on the field around the greens, so his short game is obviously in very good shape right now.
However, that should actually concern the 32-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky. He shot two rounds of 79 with the best short game in the field on Thursday and Friday. How bad would things have got if he chipped and pitched to an average standard?
Thomas won’t get up and down every single time he misses a green and with huge tournaments coming up over the next four weeks, including The Players Championship and The Masters, he may well be set for more frustration moving forward.
The crucial thing for Thomas now will be to iron out the technical faults in his swing. The difficult thing will be doing this while he’s playing in massive golf tournaments.
That is never easy and he will do well to remain patient through the tough times.
Justin Thomas showed a weak mentality with his comments on Bay Hill
The 16-time PGA Tour winner has to be mentally strong. He wouldn’t have won so many big tournaments if he wasn’t.
That is what made his comments post Bay Hill so surprising to hear.
Thomas, who admitted to feeling ‘humiliated’ out on the golf course, spoke to Golf Digest after his second round at Arnie’s Place.
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He responded when asked what he planned to do immediately after shooting a second consecutive round of 79 in Orlando.
“I’d come out here to practice, but it doesn’t really make sense to putt on these greens,“ Thomas fumed.
“I mean, there’s zero chance that they’re going to be alive Sunday.
“They are so dead already, so that is one good thing about not playing here this weekend, because it is going to suck.
“It’s going to be really hard.”
It’s so unlike Thomas to be so openly defeatist. The thing is, he has been away from competitive golf for more than five months.
Returning to competitive action at Bay Hill to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational was always going to be a real baptism of fire for Justin Thomas.
He just needs to continue to work hard, remain patient and get in as many reps as possible. He’ll be fine as long as he doesn’t over-analyze his performance.
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