Justin Thomas won’t ‘sit on the couch’ with Tour Championship on the line
By Matt Chivers
Justin Thomas is making his debut in the 3M Open, and has also entered the Wyndham Championship, taking special measures to earn a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs
Justin Thomas is in unfamiliar surroundings in his quest to make the Tour Championship.
The two-time PGA Champion, 75th in the FedEx Cup standings, is making his debut at the 3M Open – with the top 70 advancing to the first Playoff event.
Since joining the PGA Tour in 2015, Thomas has never finished outside the top seven at the FedEx Cup finale.
But there is a chance the 30-year-old won’t make the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, let alone the Tour Championship field this year.
“I’m very, very close,” he said. “I feel like I’m just right there to break through a little inner confidence or mojo, if you will.
“I’m not going to get that at home sitting on the couch – I just need to play my way through it a little bit.
“This is an unbelievable opportunity for me, behind the eight-ball and my end goal is to make the Tour Championship like it is every year.
“It’s not like I’m just playing to try to get into the first Playoffs event. I want to be in Atlanta and I’m going to have to get there somehow.”
After also entering the Wyndham Championship for the first time since 2016, Thomas says this is a chance “to learn a little bit about himself” after a string of disappointing results.
He missed the cut at The Open after an 82 in the first round. It was the fourth cut he’d missed in his last six starts.
Thomas’ spot on the US Ryder Cup team is also in jeopardy. He sits 15th in the standings, but success at TPC Twin Cities and Sedgefield Country Club could change this.
“I really feel like great things are coming,” he added. “Obviously I’ve had not very many results or not many positives to show.
“I’ve played a lot better golf than I feel like the scores and finishes have shown. It was just a couple of events ago in the Travelers I finished in the top 10 – obviously Keegan was running away with it, but very easily could have been a top 2, 3, 4, 5 finish.
“I’m doing a lot of things pretty well. I’ve got to kind of just get over that hurdle. Feel like I’m very, very close, I am. Just got to – hopefully, this is the week that it all clicks and comes together.”
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Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
