How Good Is Justin Thomas?

It's been a while since I last posted but I was waiting for something to write about and now I have it thanks to Justin Thomas.

After successfully defending the CIMB Classic at the end of October, Justin Thomas seemed poised to break out in 2017.  He has exploded during this wraparound season by completing the Hawaii Slam winning the Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open by three and seven shots respectively.  The 23 year old is taking the week off of this week's CareerBuilder Challenge at PGA West in Palm Springs and rightly so.  Thomas is now ranked 8th in the OWGR.  Don't quote me but I believe his next appearance in a tournament will be down by me at The WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.

JT now has 4 PGA Tour wins 3 in the last 3 months.  After becoming the youngest on the PGA Tour to shoot 59, where does he go from here?  He has always been a great player, the results just haven't come as quickly as they did for Jordan Spieth.  Thomas admitted that the difference has been his maturity and preparation. Last year at the TOC, he said he spent more time at the beach and doing activities than he did practicing.  He vowed that would change and boy did it ever change.  Instead of spending an afternoon at the beach, Thomas spent it on the putting green.  He has putted beautifully while winning the Hawaiian Slam. 🏆

Thomas is now playing with house money, meaning he has no fear of keeping his card.  His card is secure.  He can now freewheel his way through 2017 just like that free-flowing beautiful release he puts on the golf ball.  I love basically everything about JT's game.  He swings the club with beautiful rhythm and balance.  His short game is outstanding which is one factor for a player's ceiling.  Getting a timely up and down for par is much more important for maintaining good rounds than a 300+ yard drive.

Thomas has shown that he can win some smaller tour events, the next step is probably winning an event where all the best in the world are in attendance such as a WGC, The Players, or dare I say, a major championship.

In my opinion, the floodgates are wide open as Jordan Spieth said after the TOC.


Aloha,

Kevin Trobaugh, PGA Apprentice

"Even if the results don't happen right away, stay confident, stay poised, and keep working"