ORLANDO – Justin Thomas is good at golf. You may know that he has won The Players Championship and two PGA Championships. (Why, that’s 40 percent of the way, for Brandelin the Grand Slam career!) Rory McIlroy (the current career Grand Slam winner) and sitting around 10th at the midpoint of this ongoing Arnold Palmer Invitational, noted Friday that Justin Thomas, his Ryder Cup spokeswoman and South Florida’s biggest neighbor, has been “one of the best players in the world for the last 10 years — he’s going to be fine.”
But Thomas’ first two rounds turned into tournament golf – he hasn’t played since Ryder Cup in September and underwent back surgery on November 13 – were anything but fine. He followed up his Thursday 79 with a Friday… 79. There are only 72 players in this Signature event. There is actually a cutoff, for top-50s and ties (or within the top 10). JT’s work week is over. He died last.
There was good news for Justin Thomas and his growing family, plus anyone hoping he makes the Presidents Cup team this year: “My body feels good, which is a big positive.”
Speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, Thomas, who in good times can certainly come across as cocky, was humble and candid and anything but self-assured:
“Just a pretty miserable couple of days,” he said. Playing under the gun again, he said, would make sense “if I’d been playing well. I expect more from myself. I don’t think there’s any situation where I feel like I have to shoot 14 par for two days.” He said he was “very, very anxious, very nervous, just in my own way”. He said his putting was terrible, he was hitting it left all day, he was worried about knocking over his playing partner, Hideki Matsuyama. He talked about a shot where A thing you can’t to do is to hit it in the water. Spraying. Thomas didn’t quote Tiger on purpose, but this TW chestnut came out: “It is what it is.”
He was asked if Woods, his friend and frequent playing partner, had any advice on coming back from injuries, surgeries and layoffs.
“He’s like a lot of people, who are the best at what they do. They’re not the best at explaining it,” Thomas said. “Obviously, he’s been through the rear, a lot.
“But my situation is a little different. I feel like (my biggest issue) is mentally preparing. That’s what I noticed these last couple of days. I was so free. I couldn’t focus on what I had to do.”
Thomas said he hoped to find a course to play and hit balls — and make some shots — in greater Orlando on Saturday before heading to Ponte Vedra Beach for The Players Championship. He said he couldn’t imagine practicing at Bay Hill on the weekend as the greens “are pretty dead already”.
McIlroy was asked about his knowledge of Thomas as Thomas returns from his microdiscectomy surgery for a herniated disc problem.
“I haven’t been through surgery, so I don’t know what it’s like to come back,” McIlroy said. “It’s going to take time. I saw JT a couple of weeks ago and he said this is going to be his first start. And I said, ‘Oof — maybe not the best place to be coming back after six months off.’
But then McIlroy went on to what rings true and may be true, but you never really know: “He’s just got to be sharp again, get into tournament mode, all of that. As long as he gets through these two days and doesn’t feel any ill effects of the back or the surgery, then I think he’s in a good place.”
Even if that score is 14 over par, 27 strokes behind 36-hole leader Daniel Berger. Yes, Daniel Berger. He missed 19 months in 2023 with a bulging disc and other health issues.
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Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com
