Justin Thomas is no longer a young gun or a budding star. He is not from the same graduating class as world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland or rising rookie Ludvig Åberg, all of whom are still in their 20s. He is a PGA Tour veteran, and the 2024 season marks the first time in his decade-long professional journey where a bounce-back is not just required but expected.
The 15-time PGA Tour winner finished 71st in the 2023 FedEx Cup standings, one spot outside the postseason cut-off point. He experienced career worsts in terms of wins (0), top-20 finishes (10) and strokes gained approach (+0.44). Thomas traversed through valleys more often than not in 2023, but rock bottom was hit in the form of a second-round 81 at the U.S. Open and an opening-round 82 at The Open. Thomas was ultimately not a factor in any of the four major championships.
A controversial selection by captain Zach Johnson for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Thomas was once again without his best stuff in Rome. Fitting in with the rest of the visiting American side, the heartbeat of the road team garnered a forgettable 1-2-1 record en route to a crumbling defeat.
Perspective is key when discussing a player like Thomas. Most would kill for the chance to play in all four major championships and even serve as the defending champion in one of them. Participating in a Ryder Cup is a career goal for many golfers, while playing in the PGA Tour's signature events and cashing 10 top-20 finishes are annual goals for others. Thomas accomplished all of that in the worst season of his career.
"I felt like I learned a lot," Thomas told Golf's Subpar podcast. "I found some stuff — some bad habits I maybe picked up over the last couple years that I maybe did not give enough attention. It's more so getting back into me and my ownership of my swing and my feels and how I kind of go about things."
During a time in professional golf where players' posses are starting to look more and more like traveling circuses, Thomas has decided to zig while others are zagging. His father and swing coach, Mike Thomas, while still involved has taken a slight step back, allowing the younger Thomas to take the reins on his game. The 30-year-old has even gone as far as ditching his gluten-free and dairy-free diet because, well, it did nothing to improve his game.
After all, for Thomas, it's about returning to the basics and to being that player — more specifically, the iron player — that led him to world No. 1, two PGA Championship titles, a Players Championship victory, a FedEx Cup crown and 15 PGA Tour trophies. That's when the game came easy to Thomas, and 2024 could bring similar accolades with just one fix.
| Justin Thomas' Proximity Ranks | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
From 50-75 yards | 3rd | 57th |
From 75-100 yards | 1st | T100th |
From 100-125 yards | 1st | T19th |
From > 200 yards | T10th | 136th |
From > 275 yards | 41st | 57th |
Rory McIlroy is a generational driver of the golf ball. Cameron Smith is a maestro on the greens. Jordan Spieth is a wizard with a wedge. Thomas is a problem with his irons -- usually; in 2023, Thomas was actually had problems with his irons. Take away the Hulk's strength or the Flash's speed and they quickly become human, and that's what happened to the iron chef last year as he devolved into an average PGA Tour player.
Not only was his overall approach play down, but some of his key proximity ranks were close to bottoming out among PGA Tour members. Off-speed pitches from 75-100 yards with his wedges were a known bread and butter for Thomas, but in 2023, he barely cracked the top 100. High, towering long irons that would land with like a butterfly with sore feet separated Thomas from his peers on firm and fast major championship-style golf courses. They separated Thomas, alright, just not in the way he had envisioned.
Thomas is the first to know of these shortcomings (he is the one swinging the golf club after all), and he will be the first to know what needs to change. It is not necessarily a long road back to relevance which Thomas needs to trek, but it is an unfamiliar one. Early indications — a fourth-place finish at the Nedbank Challenge and third-place finish at the Hero World Challenge — may suggest he is already heading in the right direction.
