Justin Thomas gave as honest an assessment as he could about his game after missing the cut at the 2023 US Open.
Unfortunately, Thomas didn’t just miss the cut at Los Angeles Country Club on Friday, he shot 81 to finish above just three players on the leaderboard.
It was barely 12 months ago he won his second PGA Championship trophy at Southern Hills after beating Will Zalatoris in a playoff – his 15th PGA Tour win.
That day seems longer ago than ever, and the 30-year-old couldn’t hide his frustration after missing the weekend in consecutive tournaments now.
“It’s definitely the lowest I’ve felt,” Thomas said. “It’s pretty, honestly, humiliating and embarrassing shooting scores like that. At a golf course I really, really liked. I thought it was set up very well.
“It’s a funny game, man. It can leave you speechless, both in good and bad, and right now it’s unfortunately bad.
“I’ve just got to try to find a way to get better and learn from this. If I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”
Despite the brilliance at the top of the pile shown by Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark, and Rory McIlroy, the wider context of the leaderboard makes Thomas’ disappointing display slightly more understandable.
Major champions Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, and Phil Mickelson missed the cut, while six-time tour winner Max Homa also missed the weekend with a 76.
Thomas is ranked 16th in the world, his worst ranking since he sat 22nd in 2017, and he’s only made two top-10s during the 2023 schedule.
But it’s important to remember this is Justin Thomas – a two-time major champion and a two-time US Ryder Cup player and he remains optimistic ahead of The Open at Hoylake next month.
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“I’ll figure it out. I have another major left. I go win the British Open, nobody even remembers that I missed the cut by a zillion here.
“I’ve just got to try to find a way to get better and learn from this. If I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”
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