Justin Thomas’ winless streak prolonged to two-and-a-half years on the Zozo Championship.
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It was not but Sunday morning in the USA when the previous feeling rewashed over Justin Thomas.
As with every of his begins within the final two-and-a-half years, Thomas’ Sunday on the Zozo Championship in Japan had ended with a loss. His winless streak — a merciless reminder of how fickle and fleeting his chosen career will be — would lengthen into one other week, one other month, and presumably even one other 12 months.
Formally, Thomas misplaced by solely a single shot. Nico Echavarria, the 30-year-old Colombian professional, made birdies on two of his final three holes to eke out a win over Thomas, who made birdie on solely certainly one of his final three.
Echavarria was a worthy champ, notably after getting into the day with a two-shot lead and making 5 birdies to safe his lead. However Thomas additionally would have been a worthy champ — a participant searching for to finish a 30-month winless streak that started on the very prime of the game on the 2022 PGA Championship. As an alternative, Thomas returned to locker room on the Zozo with solely platitudes.
“Yeah, it’s a mix of clearly bummed and dissatisfied, however I performed so properly,” Thomas stated. “I performed lots properly sufficient to win the match. Hit so many good putts in the present day that simply didn’t go in, that’s the distinction. I wanted a few of these ones that burned the sting to fall.”
Sure, Thomas’ loss on the Zozo sounded rather a lot like his losses at different tournaments this 12 months — occasions the place his sport has arrived for lengthy sufficient to be within the hunt however not lengthy sufficient to seize a victory. After these occasions, Thomas has informed us about his satisfaction in his efficiency, and about his religion that issues are transferring in the correct path.
However for as soon as, on the Zozo, it seemed like these platitudes may be headed towards one thing.
Thomas made only one bogey over the course of 72 holes for the week on the Zozo, rating close to the highest of the sphere in strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: method — two stats that had been hallmarks of his profession’s excessive factors in ’20 and ’21. He managed the strain of the lead on Sunday with a attribute mix of opportunistic golf, gaining near 2-and-a-half photographs on the sphere over a protracted, bogey-free Sunday.
These weren’t the visions of Thomas who climbed to the world no. 1 spot, nor the visions of him that snuck right into a PGA Championship victory in ’22 after Mito Perreira’s 72nd gap collapse. No, they had been visions of a brand new JT — a participant who is just not self-evidently related, however who has seen down the chasm of obscurity.
“The stuff I’ve been engaged on, every part I’ve been doing is clearly the correct stuff and I’m nonetheless going the correct path,” Thomas stated. “Simply obtained to maintain attempting to place myself in rivalry and proper there as typically as I can.”
In principle, experiences like Sunday make you stronger as a competitor, extra hardened, notably after a journey of self-actualization. Thomas nonetheless has to point out us if that’s really the case, however the picture of him that appeared in Japan on the Zozo seemed like a step in the correct path.
“[I need to] hope for a regulation of averages factor,” Thomas stated. “Finally you find yourself getting it finished, but it surely’s nearly placing your self there extra.”
