What happened to Justin Thomas?
With just 1 tournament left in the PGA Tour regular season, Justin Thomas currently sits 9 spots outside the playoffs. Will he be able to make the cut?
Justin Thomas is a former FedEx Cup Champion and 2-time major champion, so seeing him struggle this much is new. In 2022, Justin Thomas won his second major at the PGA Championship. However, Thomas has struggled in the 2022–2023 PGA Tour season. He hasn’t won since the PGA, has made 3 top 10s, and no top 3s. While that is usually good for any mid-level PGA pro, Thomas has consistently been in the top 20 of the PGA Tour, and consider a superstar in the sport of Golf. Considering the recent struggles, let’s take a deeper dive into where JT has been struggling this season.
Thomas has been considered one of the best ball strikers in recent history and is also known for his strength off the tee. This year Thomas has made 13 cuts out of 18 events played. While that stat alone seems quite solid, the fact he has no wins, and only 3 top 10s shows how mediocre his play on the weekend has been.
Where he struggles:
Putting
Thomas ranks above the field average in every strokes gained category except for putting. In SG Putting, JT has lost -0.293 strokes per round, which ranks 159th on tour. It’s no surprise Thomas also ranks 115th in putts per round, with just under 29. While the tour average is right around 29 as well, Thomas would like to be ranked much higher, considering the success he has had in the past.
Tee to green
Even though Thomas currently ranks 159th in driving accuracy in 2023, his SG off the tee is 0.156. To put it bluntly, when he finds the fairway, he can make things happen.
Approach and short game
These sets of statistics also go in hand with his short game around the green. Thomas ranks 132nd in GIR with 64%, and 144th in approach shots greater than 200 yards with 54'10". While Thomas has been considered an elite ball striker and iron player, this goes to show his iron play is in a slump this year. With his underwhelming iron play, his short game has become that much more important. The pressure seems real as he ranks 119th in sand saves with 49%, and 137th in scrambling with almost 58%.
Justin Thomas controls his own destiny. In order to make the FedEx Cup playoffs, he needs to make the cut in this final regular season tournament and finish near the top of the leaderboard. Another aspect of Thomas’ poor play is his likeness to make it to the US Ryder Cup Team in 2023. With many spots secured by players having played very well, Thomas is on the outside looking in. Only time will tell whether he sneaks into the playoffs or not.
