Tag: Justin Thomas

Major champion on Justin Thomas at the Ryder Cup: ‘If they don’t take him, it’s the worst call ever’

“I’ve been inside the ropes at enough Presidents Cups there’s just no chance you don’t take Justin.”

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Is Justin Thomas going to prep for the Ryder Cup while sipping fine Napa wine and dining at the French Laundry?

Thomas and Max Homa, who clinched one of six automatic picks to the U.S. team on Sunday, were both announced as early commits to play in the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California, the kickoff event to the PGA Tour’s fall season. It’s great news for an event that may struggle to attract players who finished in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings and already secured status for next season’s Signature Events and looking for some time off.

Homa is the two-time defending champion and a Fortinet ambassador, who wears the company logo on his shirt so it’s evident why he’s teeing it up that week. But is Thomas, who failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs after finishing 71st in the regular-season standings, in search of points during the fall to back-door his way into the top events next season or does he see the tournament as a way to knock off some competitive rust before the Ryder Cup in Rome?

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson is scheduled to make his six captain’s picks on Aug. 29, which gives players competing this week at the Tour Championship one more week to make a lasting impression. But to hear PGA Tour veteran Geoff Ogilvy, who has served as a vice captain for the International Team at the last three Presidents Cups, tell it, choosing Thomas, slump or no slump, is a no-brainer.

“If they don’t take him, it’s the worst call ever,” Ogilvy said. “He’s the best head-to-head match player in the world.”

Thomas, 30, is a two-time major champion and 15-time PGA Tour winner but he’s been mired in a slump ever since he won the PGA Championship last May. Thomas shot 81 at the U.S. Open in June and 82 at the British Open in July. He attempted to make a run at the FedEx Cup Playoffs in August, adding the 3M Open, where he missed the cut, and Wyndham Championship, where he finished T-11, to his schedule.

While his performance of late is of concern, there’s no denying that Thomas has been a force to be reckoned with on recent U.S. Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams, tallying 17.5 points for the Americans across two Ryder Cups and three Presidents Cups.

“JT would be my first pick. I’ve been inside the ropes at enough Presidents Cups there’s just no chance you don’t take Justin,” said Ogilvy. “He does something to the team. He goes out front and leads and fist pumps and makes everyone behind him believe.”

If Thomas is selected for the Ryder Cup team, he would be in danger of going nearly two months without competing in a tournament – unless he were to go play on the DP World Tour –before the Ryder Cup in Rome, which is scheduled for Sept. 29-Oct. 1. So, it would make sense to return to the Fortinet Championship, which is being played Sept. 14-17, for the first time since 2019, where he finished T-4.

According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Rory McIlroy agrees with Ogilvy’s assessment of Thomas.

“Because JT has that great experience and because as Rory called him ‘an annoyance,’ he should definitely be on that team,” Lewis reported.

Ogilvy noted that if he were Johnson, he would play Thomas and Jordan Spieth – “They are untouchable” – and Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele every match, and if Thomas happened to play poorly, he’d sit him during the fourball session. Asked if he would take the hot hand in Lucas Glover, who has won in two of his last three starts, Ogilvy said, “It’s hard to not take Lucas but you can’t take him at the expense of Justin Thomas.”

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Ryder Cup standings update: Who’s in contention for Team USA?

Who’s in and who’s out of Team USA in the final week to earn automatic qualification.

This week’s BMW Championship isn’t just the second of three season-ending FedEx Cup Playoff stops.

It also marks the final event for players to earn a spot on the United States squad for the 2023 Ryder Cup, which will be held from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome.

American players began earning points at the beginning of 2022, and at the conclusion of the BMW Championship, the top six players on the points list will qualify for the U.S. team. Captain Zach Johnson will then announce his six captain’s picks following the 2023 Tour Championship, Aug. 24-27, at East Lake in Atlanta.

Will a struggling Justin Thomas get the nod? Did Lucas Glover get hot enough at the right time? How many players from LIV Golf could make it?

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As Team USA begins to take shape, here’s an updated look at the standings for the U.S. squad bound for the 2023 Ryder Cup.

Justin Thomas’s reaction to just missing holing a shot to clinch a FedEx Cup spot is so heartbreaking

He was SO CLOSE.

You’ve got to feel for Justin Thomas.

If he had a good showing at the Wyndham Championship, he would make the FedEx Cup playoffs despite a season to forget for the golfer.

But there he was on No. 18 at Sedgefield Country Club. If he made birdie, he would be in the top 70 and make the playoffs.

He had hit an amazing shot out of the trees and then lined up a pitch. If it went in, he was in. And the shot looked good when he hit it … but as it skipped to the hole, it almost seemed to hit the lip and bounced back.

And Thomas? He fell to the turf and covered his eyes, not believing how close that shot — and perhaps his FedEx Cup chances — was.

So heartbreaking. Here’s what he said after, via Golfweek:

“I made the best out of every situation that I had. And just, I mean, fought as hard as I possibly could,” Thomas said after his round but before he learned he was officially eliminated. “That’s kind of what I’ve done my whole life, my whole career and I didn’t want to stop here.”

These players’ PGA Tour seasons came to an end at the Wyndham Championship

Matt Kuchar owns the distinction of being the only player to qualify for the playoffs every year since 2007.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — And then there was one.

Matt Kuchar now owns the distinction of being the only player to qualify for the playoffs in each season since the inception of the FedEx Cup in 2007.

Kuchar finished T-39 at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday and enters the playoffs, which begin next week in Memphis, at No. 60 in the season-long point standings.

This season, only the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings qualify for the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, down from 125 (2009-2022), which made it much tougher.

After plenty of drama, only one player, tournament winner Lucas Glover advanced to the playoffs and Austin Eckroat, who entered the week at No. 70 but missed the cut, got knocked out.

Justin Thomas, meanwhile, was the odd-man out at No. 71.

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Justin Thomas’s pursuit of 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs was a rollercoaster ride

He was out, he was in, he was out again and then he nearly holed a walk-off birdie.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Justin Thomas’s pursuit of a spot in the 2023 FedEx Cup Playoffs came down to the wire at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday. He was out, he was in, he was out again and then he nearly holed a walk-off birdie pitch but it wasn’t to be. Ben Griffin, who missed the cut this week hung on to the final spot and Thomas was the odd man out at No. 71, just nine points behind.

“I made the best out of every situation that I had. And just, I mean, fought as hard as I possibly could,” Thomas said after his round but before he learned he was officially eliminated. “That’s kind of what I’ve done my whole life, my whole career and I didn’t want to stop here.”

Thomas, who entered the week at No. 79 in the season-long points standings, shot a final-round 2-under 68 at Sedgefield Country Club to finish T-12.

Thomas had qualified for the playoffs, which begin next week with the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, in each of his first eight seasons, winning the title in 2017, and finishing in the top 10 in the final standings in five of the last six seasons.

With only the top 70 advancing to the playoffs instead of 125 as in previous seasons, Thomas did everything he could to extend his season, including adding the 3M Open to his schedule last week and making his first appearance in the Wyndham since 2016. While Thomas ended up 71st, he said he gained a lot from the experience.

“I feel like I’m back to me again,” he said. “Personally, I think this was harder today than trying to win a golf tournament.”

Thomas bounced back from an opening-round 70, which dropped him to 81st in the standings, with rounds of 65-66 and entered the final round projected to finish No. 72. On Sunday, he drained a 39-foot birdie putt at No. 6, but then strung together eight straight pars, including missing an 8-foot birdie putt at 14.

Just when his chances were starting to look bleak, he took advantage of the par-5 15th, splitting the fairway with a 332-yard bomb. Walking to his ball, he turned to his caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay and said, “It sure is nice to play the hole for the first time all week from the fairway.”

Thomas made the most of it, drilling a 7-iron from 214 yards to 15 feet and his downhill eagle putt trickled in. Thomas clenched his right fist and pointed to the sky. It lifted him to No. 70 in the standings. But one hole later, he made a bogey that would prove costly. The wind switched directions on him when he hit 9-iron at the par-3 16th and his ball ballooned in the air. He hit a poor chip from short of the green and missed a 30-foot par putt. At first, it didn’t hurt his position; that is until Adam Svensson made a birdie at 15 to vault ahead of Thomas in the tournament and steal some valuable points.

Thomas scrambled for par at 17 but tugged his tee shot at 18 left and into the trees. From a lie in pine straw and with a tree forcing him to hit a low hooking 8-iron, he contorted his body in a whirlybird motion reminiscent of Tiger Woods escaping trouble over the years. It was a remarkable shot, stopping 34 feet short of the flag.

2023 Wyndham Championship
Justin Thomas plays a shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2023 Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Photo: Logan Whitton/Getty Images)

Thomas weighed his options: using his 56-degree wedge he determined to be the conservative play to make an up-and-down par but he elected to trap a 60-degree to try to make it, knowing that a birdie would lock up a playoff spot. His ball bounced three times and kissed the flagstick, coming to rest a foot from the hole. He put his hands on his head and fell to the ground in disbelief, knowing that he was that close to punching his ticket to Memphis in dramatic fashion.

“It would have been a lot more incredible if it would have gone in,” Thomas said.

Shortly after Thomas tapped in, play was suspended for more than 2 hours and so started Thomas’s waiting game to see if he could get any help. He recalled that in 2015 he was told his spot was secure to earn a berth in the Tour Championship but then players still on the course made birdies and he was bumped to No. 32. He knew he was going to need help, which he didn’t get, but he was proud of the fact that he’d done his part.

“I played the best I could and I fought as hard as I could and shot the lowest I possibly could,” he said.

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Justin Thomas completes dairy-free diet, orders three gluten-free pizzas

Back in May, Justin Thomas was asked what he missed most while doing a dairy- and gluten-free diet.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Back in May, Justin Thomas was asked what he missed most while doing a dairy- and gluten-free diet.

“I want a pizza like you can’t imagine,” he said during a press conference at the Wells Fargo Championship. “Like, I would do some really messed up things for a pizza just doused in ranch.”

Well, Thomas wrapped up his six months of eating dairy-free and celebrated last week after returning from England and the British Open by eating not one, not two, but three gluten-free pizzas while in Blaine, Minnesot, for the 3M Championship.

“It was my first pizza since January and I could’ve cried,” he said on Saturday at the Wyndham Championship.

Asked if he thinks the diet has helped him improve his energy levels, he said, “I mean this is my fourth week in a row, obviously I missed two of the cuts, but it’s been a lot of travel and I feel pretty good.”

Props to Thomas for sacrificing one of his favorite guilty pleasures to chase greatness. While he hasn’t won this year and has endured the biggest slump of his career, he’s shown he’s willing to leave no stone unturned. He noted he still has a few more months to complete his quest to spend a full year without eating gluten.

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JT on outside looking in and who’s projected in/out for Wyndham Championship’s final round

Pressure does funny things to golfers.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Pressure does funny things to golfers.

Just look at the players battling to earn a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs at this week’s regular season finale at the Wyndham Championship. With only the top 70 moving on to Memphis, Nos. 68 Ben Griffin and “Bubble Boy” Austin Eckroat missed the cut on Friday as did Ben Taylor, Garrick Higgo, K.H. Lee, David Lingmerth, the four players who entered the week Nos. 71-74.

Meanwhile, 54-hole co-leaders Lucas Glover and Billy Horschel have zoomed from No. 112 to No. 50 and No. 116 to No. 53, respectively.

But for a true sense of how the pressure is ratcheted up at Sedgefield Country Club, here’s what two-time major champion and former world No. 1 Justin Thomas had to say.

“It’s a lot harder than trying to win a golf tournament in my opinion. I think when you’re trying to win a tournament you’re there and if you don’t win it’s a bummer, but you still had a great week kind of thing,” he said. “If I just don’t get it done for what I need to get done this week, then it sucks and my year’s over.”

Thomas entered the week at No. 79 in the season-long standings, but after shooting 66 on Saturday to improve to T-11, he’s projected to finish 72nd, 19 points out of a playoff berth. He’ll need to go low again on Sunday. Even if the 54-hole co-leaders finish 1-2, Thomas could still get in with a T-7. Data Golf gives him a 30 percent chance of making the playoffs.

But to hear Thomas tell it, that isn’t even the biggest reason he’s feeling a different brand of nerves this week.

“I want to make the Ryder Cup team so bad. I mean, it’s so important to me. I mean, I legitimately would rather make the Ryder Cup than the Playoffs, which is really, really messed up to say, but it’s just the truth,” he said.“But because of that, I think that’s why I played so poorly the last month and a half or two months. Like it’s just I’m putting so much pressure on myself to play well, it’s very similar to what happened to me in 2016.”

Thomas also addressed how he will approach Sunday’s round.

“The only way I feel I would change strategy would be in a situation where I needed to birdie the last two holes or I needed to birdie 18 or something. The hope is to go play really well tomorrow and see how close to the lead we can get, and if I do that, then should be fine,” he said. “It’s very similar to Q-School. I didn’t go into the final stage of Q-School trying to finish 45th, I went there trying to win a golf tournament. If I just came up short, then it was going to be plenty to qualify. It’s a very different but somewhat similar situation here.”

With one round to go on the Tour’s 47-event regular season, here’s what the projected standings look like from Nos. 65-80:

  1. Aaron Rai, MC
  2. Beau Hossler, MC
  3. Cam Davis, T-16
  4. Vincent Normann, T-43
  5. Matt NeSmith, 72
  6. J.J. Spaun, T-51
  7. Ben Griffin, MC
  8. Justin Thomas, T-11
  9. Davis Thompson, T-21
  10. Austin Eckroat, MC
  11. Ben Taylor, MC
  12. Garrick Higgo, MC
  13. K.H. Lee, MC
  14. Shane Lowry, T-51
  15. David Lingmerth, MC
  16. Michael Kim, 6

Justin Thomas denied relief by PGA Tour rules official: ‘Worth a shot’

Thomas called for a referee to determine whether a scoreboard was in his line of sight.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Justin Thomas sought relief after he fanned his tee shot 30 yards to the right on the ninth hole at Sedgefield Country Club and it landed underneath a tree. But a PGA Tour rules official denied the request for a free drop at the Wyndham Championship on Saturday.

Thomas called for a referee to determine whether a scoreboard was in his line of sight. Out came Tour official Pete Lis, who heard his plea and concluded that from his lie behind a tree a scoreboard wasn’t on his intended line of play.

“I feel like you’re not understanding what I’m saying,” Thomas said. “I’ve had it multiple times where a grandstand is in my way and don’t get relief.”

“It’s not on your line of play right now,” Lis said. “You wouldn’t because you can’t get the ball to finish on the line with hole.”

Thomas accepted the decision and punched out from the pine straw and made one of his two bogeys in a round of 66 that lifted him into a tie for 11th as he battles to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs. It was a classic example of a player trying to use the Rules of Golf to their advantage. Thomas was wise to ask.

“You get rulings sometimes where you almost feel bad that it’s happening, and I truly felt like that was going to be one of those scenarios. It’s just weird. It was between me and the hole, and I just had situations before where stuff like that’s happened. It’s not necessarily in your way, but because it’s between you, you get relief,” he explained. “It was just because the tree was there. It was one of those things like you kind of have your tail tucked between your legs asking for relief because it would only happen in a situation like this. But at the same time, I’m always going to ask because you never know, I could have gotten a drop and would have been able to hit on the green. So worth a shot.”

One day earlier, Thomas was granted a ruling in his favor that allowed both he and Adam Scott, who was playing in the same group, to drop in the fairway rather than the rough after they drove into the water on the eighth hole.

“I think drops get abused a decent bit and we’re not those guys, but we just wanted to –  we needed to make sure that it was done correctly because that’s not – that wasn’t in the nature of it, we just wanted to make sure all was OK,” he said on Friday.

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Russell Henley leads at Wyndham, Billy Ho’s back and JT still has life

Russell Henley is turning back the clock – just a bit, to 2021.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Russell Henley is turning back the clock – just a bit, to 2021.

That was the year he raced out of the gate with a 62 and 64 to grab the 36-hole lead, but he sputtered on Sunday and missed out on a six-man playoff. This week, he posted another 62 in the opening round and followed it up on Friday with a 66 at Sedgefield Country Club to grab a one-stroke lead over Billy Horschel at the midway point of the regular-season finale.

Henley’s goal is to avoid as Yogi Berra once said, déjà vu all over again. In other words, don’t fold like the Sunday paper on Sunday.

“I was in control of the tournament. Had a couple three-putts, missed a couple short ones and a couple bad swings on the back and missed out on the playoff by one shot. Definitely stings to kind of lose it right there because I played so well the first however many holes, 60 holes,” Henley said of blowing the lead here in 2021. “But again, you know, it’s why I’ve got to play all 72 holes. It’s just hard to do, hard to finish it off, but I’m excited hopefully for another good weekend.”

Here are four more things to know about the second round of the 2023 Wyndham Championship.

PGA Tour pros sound off on cuts at Arnie, Jack and Tiger’s legacy events

“If he wants to have a cut in his event, I think that’s more than OK to allow,” said Justin Thomas

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods deserve respect for what they did to make the PGA Tour what it is today.

It is only fitting that Tiger and Jack and the caretakers of the Palmer legacy should have a say in how the tournaments they host are contested. Jack’s Memorial and the Arnold Palmer Invitational have been 120-man events for years while Tiger became involved in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, more recently and it got bumped to higher status in 2020.

Golfweek has learned that those three signature events, the new name for the Tour’s eight designated events, will continue to have a cut in 2024. Here’s what Billy Horschel, Adam Scott, Kevin Streelman and Justin Thomas think about that.

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