Thomas faces expectations playing fourth Open
25-year-old under pressure, seeking second major
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Justin Thomas got a kick out of a recent meme he saw on social media regarding the loss of his No. 1 status. The gif noted that the last time Thomas wasn’t on top of the golf world, Alex Ovechkin didn’t have a Stanley Cup and Rickie Fowler wasn’t engaged.
“That was it,” Thomas said. “I thought that was pretty funny, whoever came up with that.”
Thomas spent four weeks at the top and wasn’t even competing when Dustin Johnson reclaimed his ranking after a decisive victory on Sunday in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. In fact, Thomas only played one week as world No. 1. None of that seems to be a concern to the 25year-old, however, as he makes his fourth U.S. Open appearance and first as a major champion at Shinnecock Hills.
Asked if competing in a major feels any different after enjoying a monster 2017, winning the PGA Championship, Player of the Year honors and the FedExCup title, Thomas said it’s a blur.
“It’s a little different,” he said. “But it all goes by so fast, it’s hard to sit back and think too much about what else has gone on.”
Thomas’ U.S. Open record, while brief, includes a major championship-tying 63 in Round 3 last year at Erin Hills. A closing 75 dropped the eighttime Tour winner into a tie for ninth. Thomas missed the next three cuts, including the British Open, before ultimately claiming his first major title at Quail Hollow.
Hunting down a second major, he said, might be more difficult than winning the first. There are more expectations to start with, more demands. And the perception that comes with winning multiple majors as opposed to one?
“It’s definitely a big difference,” he said. “I mean, absolutely zero, no disrespect to guys that have won one, obviously myself included, but it’s a lot easier to get hot one week than it is to do it again and win another major.”