AUGUSTA - He owns two major championships, mostly recently the 2022 PGA title, but there’s something about the Masters that make Justin Thomas, a kid who grew up in the south and attended the University of Alabama, to almost want it too bad.
So as he prepares for his eighth Masters, Thomas continues to figure out how to achieve perhaps his biggest goal.
“I know I personally can definitely want something too much,” he said. “I’ve wanted to win this tournament too much in the past. I’ve wanted to be No. 1 in the world too badly. I’ve wanted to win golf tournaments too badly. It’s a fine line. It’s a learning experience and a learning process. I think I’m starting to learn a little bit more.”
Thomas finished fourth in 2020 in the fall Masters, when he had the 36-hole lead, and tied for eighth in 2022. He has never missed the cut, but has never sent the clubhouse attendant searching on Sunday afternoon for a green jacket in his size for the Butler Cabin ceremony, either.
“In the past, especially at this tournament, I’ve come in here kind of tense and just geared up and ready to go,” Thomas said. “Like I’m going to tear this place up. And just as soon as one thing goes wrong, my mind is in a blender. It’s like, ‘Well, I didn’t think I was going to go over here. I thought I was going to hit it over here,’ and so forth. Next thing you know you shoot 73, 74 the first day, like I’ve done a handful of times, and you’re just playing catchup.”
Thomas has made a combined 57 birdies or eagles over the last three years, tied for the most. His average first-round score is 73.3, not exactly a number that will rock the leaderboard. His best starting round was 66 in 2020, when he enjoyed his best finish.
“If I had to put a finger on it, in the past I would say there are times I’m between clubs or it’s a longer hole like No. 7 where I get out of position off the tee and I’m just making it a little too hard on myself,” he said. “Maybe I’m trying to force the issue, challenging a pin I don’t need to.”
Thomas ranks 147th on the PGA Tour in shots-gained putting, 71st in putting average and 57th in putts per round. It has led to a pedestrian season. He tied for 10th at the Valspar Championship, only his second top-10, and has fallen to No. 10 in the world rankings.
That led to his decision to try a new grip for his putter this week. It’s the same grip used by Rory McIlroy and is similar to one Thomas has used in the past. After seeing his father, PGA professional Mike Thomas, use the same grip last week while playing a casual round, Thomas decided to give it a shot.
“I’ve traveled with an identical backup every single week and I just threw it on there to see how it felt, to be perfectly honest, and it feels pretty good,” Thomas said. “So why fight it?”
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