Justin Thomas won his second major title just 13 months ago, but right now, he is far away from contending at a major again.
Thomas followed an opening 73 with an 11-over-par 81 on Friday in the second round of the U.S. Open, adding up to a 14-over 154 card at Los Angeles Country Club’s North Course.
That was good enough to beat only three of his competitors out of a field of 156.
Calling it “humiliating and embarrassing,” Thomas told reporters he was left stunned after a good week of practice had him feeling optimistic for the major.
“I was playing the best I’ve played in a really long time this week, so funny game, man,” Thomas said. “It can leave you speechless, both good and bad, and right now it’s unfortunate. But once I’m able to reflect and figure out what I can learn and get better from, it’ll end up good. But it sucks right now.”
Thomas’ 81 was the second-worst score of his PGA Tour career. Mistakes compounded when he made back-to-back double bogeys at the par-4 sixth and par-3 seventh holes due to out-of-bounds tee shots. He had three doubles, seven bogeys and two birdies on the day.
The 15-time Tour winner hit only 11 of 26 fairways through two days at LACC, where the fairways have been criticized for being wider than standard U.S. Open fare.
Since placing fourth at the WM Phoenix Open in February, Thomas has just one top-10 finish in his past 10 starts, a stretch in which he has missed three cuts.
The 30-year-old took the perspective that his slump will be temporary.
“I’ll figure it out,” Thomas said. “I have another major left. If I go win the British Open, nobody even remembers that I’ve missed the cut by a zillion here, so I’ve just got to find a way to get better and learn from this, and if I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”
–Field Level Media
