World No. 1 Thomas has cast off Jordan Spieth’s shadow
Justin Thomas almost seems like an overnight sensation, as he has been living in the shadow of fellow American Jordan Spieth. But make no mistake, Thomas deserves to be the World No. 1, having overtaken Dustin Johnson following the Players Championship. The World Rankings are based on a two-year cycle and, in that time, Thomas has won seven times, coupled with eight other top-fives. And he hasn’t missed a cut since The Open at Royal Birkdale. Those wins include the US PGA last year, so he is already a Major Champion. He was the Fedex Cup winner last year, and tops the standings this year, so you have to admire his consistency.
Thomas has had the ideal golf upbringing because both his father and grandfather are PGA club pros.
His technique is sound and he allies good, long driving with consistent putting, which is a winning combination.
But what stands out is his ability to shoot really low scores. He’s been on Tour for less than three years, but he’s shot 59, 61, 62 and a 63 at last year’s US Open.
That tells me he has an ideal temperament because he doesn’t get too excited. When he gets hot, he stays hot. That reminds me of Johnny Miller, who could go streaky low in the same way Justin does now.
Thomas won’t have to play second fiddle to Spieth any more. There is no reason why he can’t stay at the top for a while.
The 25-year-old will make his Ryder Cup debut this September, and it’s great news that he is coming over to play in next month’s French Open.
He’ll learn a lot about Le Golf National and he’ll take those notes back for himself and his American team-mates.
His captain, Jim Furyk, will be delighted that one of his young guns is making the effort to travel, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Jim now tees it up in Paris as well. Thomas will be expected to play all five rounds of matches in the Ryder Cup, so his experience will be invaluable.
After his performance last week, I would be amazed if Webb Simpson is not one of his team-mates in September.
To win the Players by four shots – including a double bogey on the 72nd hole – shows how in control of a topclass field Simpson was.
It was a real comeback victory after he had to modify his putting after the ban of belly putters at the start of 2016.
Simpson is not the longest of hitters, but he’s a real strategist and the US team will need that.
The other headline from Sawgrass was the excellent weekend play from Tiger Woods. After making the cut on the mark, to shoot 65-69 was a fine effort.
He drove it magnificently and started to look like the Tiger of old. But the problem was a bit of mental stamina, as he’s not been in that position for a while.
If everything is at full tilt, Tiger doesn’t double-bogey the 71st hole of an event. A win is not that far away, but a few more weeks of competitive golf should do it.