For years, Justin Thomas has been known for being Jordan Spieth’s friend. Now, Thomas is making his name known for other reasons.
Thomas is first in the PGA in money earned this season with his tour-leading three wins, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be stopping anytime soon.
Thomas became the first to win both the Sony Open and the SBS Tournament of Champions in back-to-back weeks since Ernie Els did it in 2003 (and was only the second ever to do it). After Thomas won the Sony Open, ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jonathan Coachman called Thomas’ performance “Tiger-esque.”
Now, Thomas is not Tiger Woods, but he is golf’s next breakout star. In Thomas’ five starts this season, he has won three, earning more than $3.8 million, which is over $700 thousand more than the next highest earning golfer.
Thomas’ success this season simply comes from his lack of mistakes. In his three winning tournaments, he has had only 12 bogeys and two double bogeys. Not giving up holes and being second on the tour in birdies at six per round gives Thomas a chance every time he is on the course. And when he gets a lead, good luck catching up with him.
Don’t think Thomas has just come out of nowhere, though. Thomas had quietly been on the brink of stardom for a couple of years before finally breaking through for his first win at the CIMB Classic last year, which he won again this year.
He has been no secret to the other golfers on tour, either. Both Spieth and Phil Mickelson have been raving about his talent for years now. Spieth told Golf Digest it would be like the “floodgates opening” when Thomas won out in Hawaii earlier this year.
Have the floodgates opened up for Thomas? Maybe they have. Thomas has everything going right for him at the moment. It’s one thing to win tournaments and play at a championship level. It’s a whole other thing to win tournaments while shooting 59 and setting course records.
Thomas has another chance this weekend to prove that he is golf’s next breakout star out at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. But, Thomas will only be looking to prove that he is one of golf’s elites to the fans that don’t follow the sport closely. For those that follow on a weekly basis, they have known about Thomas for quite some time now and understand his talent already.
For Thomas to take his stardom to the next level, winning over those casual golf fans is the next step. Plenty of golfers have won a couple of tournaments in a season over the years, but he has to continue to show that his impressive rounds were no fluke.
Thomas isn’t looked at the same way the Spieths or Rickie Fowlers or Rory McIlroys are, and he still has plenty to improve on before he becomes a household name among casual fans, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that he is not among golf’s best already.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_