Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Justin sets sights on adding to Major haul
NEW world No 1 Justin Thomas feels he has underachieved by having just one Major title to his name.
Thomas, whose victory in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational on Sunday took him top of the rankings for the second time, feels he should have more to show from the game’s four biggest events than the US PGA Championship title he won in 2017.
“I could argue that I could have gotten it sooner or I should have gotten it sooner, but I would definitely say I’ve underachieved saying I’ve only had one so far in my career,” the 27-year-old American said ahead of this week’s US PGA at Harding Park which starts today.
“I’ve felt almost getting the second one has been harder than the first one. I don’t want to say anybody can win one, but it’s definitely harder to win two than it is one. I mean, that’s a very obvious statement.
“To get into that other level and to be getting up into the double digits in Majors for a career, you need to get going a little bit or you need to start winning some, and when you’re stuck on one, it’s pretty hard to get there because you’ve got to get to two first.
“I mean, it’s hard to win golf tournaments. It’s really hard to win Majors. That’s the fact of the matter, no matter if you have won them or haven’t, it’s still tough.”
Meanwhile, Brooks Koepka will be among the early starters today as he bids to claim a historic hat-trick of US PGA Championship titles.
Walter Hagen won four times in a row from 1924-27 when the tournament was a match play event, but no player has lifted the Wanamaker Trophy three years running since the strokeplay era began in 1958.
Koepka will get his campaign under way from the 10th tee at 08:11 local time (16:11BST) alongside fellow Major champions Shane Lowry and Gary Woodland, with Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose in the following group.
Thomas, 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy are scheduled to tee off at 08:33 local time (16:33BST) in the first Major championship of 2020.
Spain’s Jon Rahm, who was replaced at the top of the world rankings by Thomas after just two weeks, is among the later starters and is due out at 13:58 local time (21:58BST) alongside compatriot Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson. n AMERICAN John Catlin and his caddie Nathan Mulrooney have been withdrawn from this week’s English Championship at Hanbury Manor by the European Tour after they breached Covid-19 protocol.
The pair visited a local restaurant in Hertfordshire on Tuesday evening outside the tournament bubble, which compromised the Tour’s strict health guidelines.As a result organisers have withdrawn them from the event with immediate effect.