TROON, Scotland – Justin Thomas’ opening 62 last week at the Genesis Scottish Open was impressive but he knew it wasn’t a sign of things to come. Rounds of 72-71-71 followed at the Renaissance Club and he finished the week tied for 62nd.
By comparison, his first-round 68 on a blustery morning at The Open was different. This felt right.
“I would say it was better today. I felt like I had great control off the tee. I hit some great drives and I felt like I was creative on some of them of just trying to hold it against the winds, off the tees to make the fairways a little bigger and hold it in the fairways,” said Thomas, who led the early wave at Royal Troon by a shot. “I had a couple times that I could have maybe been a little bit more aggressive, but I just felt like it wasn’t the right time or necessarily didn’t need to.”
Thomas took advantage of shifting winds that made Troon’s second nine much more playable with back-to-back birdies to finish his round. The close allowed Thomas to rebound after playing Nos. 12 and 13 in 3 over par, a stretch that included an unplayable lie with his tee shot at the 12th hole.
“I’d much rather hit a 6-iron on 17 [for his approach] or a 4-iron and a wedge into 18 than I hit 5-wood in a practice round on 17 and hitting 3-wood, 8-iron into 18,” Thomas, who finished the day three off the lead, said of Thursday’s winds that came out of the south. “It’s a good adjustment, with it being downwind, the ball that starts right, if you’re trying to hold it, it’s going to keep pushing versus into the wind sometimes it can hold and fight it a little bit more.”
It was an impressive turnaround for a player who hasn’t played his best golf in The Open. In seven previous starts, his best finish is a tie for 11th in 2019 and he’s missed the cut at the season’s final major three times.
Just a year ago at Hoylake, Thomas shot his worst-ever score in a major, an 11-over 82 in the first round.
Despite his record, Thomas said he loves the links experience.
“If I had to choose one style of golf or probably even one golf course the rest of my life to play, it would be a links course. It’s fun,” he said. “You’re not going to get the same course consistently. I could stand there middle of the fairway on 18 from 180 yards and I feel like I could hit seven different clubs, but that’s the fun part of it and I have to use a little bit of my creative side, which I like doing.”