Justin Thomas comeback made history on Friday at the PGA Tour’s flagship event as he equalled Tom Hoge’s course record in incredible fashion. The 31-year-old made 11 birdies, shooting a 10-under 62 as he became the first player to register 11 birdies in a single round at The Players Championship.
Justin Thomas Comeback: A Record-Breaking Turnaround
Thomas carded a six-over 78 in his opening round and started Friday in real danger of missing the cut. However, he recorded a remarkable turnaround to write his name in the history books. The American needed par or better on the Par 4, 462-yard hole to break the course record entering the 18th and final hole of the day. However, he ended his historic second round with his first bogey of the day.
Although he missed out on the record, Thomas revealed that he was satisfied with how he locked in on Friday. “I was losing to I think everybody that was playing golf yesterday at one point. I really wasn’t worried or upset about the golf I played, I was more upset about the round and how I was mentally out there. I feel like I wasn’t sharp. I was just really spacy,” he told reporters. “So I really made a conscious effort.”
Thomas “Crazy” Over Historic Achievement
Thomas also achieved a 16-stroke improvement to record the biggest from the first to the second round in The Players history which lifted nom 104 places on the leaderboard. The 31-year-old found the water with his second shot for a bogey finish. Nevertheless, he is now just seven shots adrift of joint leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia.
“Crazy is an understatement. It is wild. I am just really proud of myself,” Thomas was quoted saying to Sky Sports. “The score is great but just [as good] to come out with the attitude and mentality. The position I put myself in I needed to do something crazy just to make the cut.”
“That was one of the best rounds I’ve played, for sure,” Thomas continued. “The score (Thursday) sucked. It was absolutely terrible in every way, shape or form. But it was a fluke. It was the worst driving and iron play I’ve had, I think, probably in a round in my career.”
“But I was way more frustrated and upset with how I was mentally…Jill (Thomas’ wife) just listened for a long time last night. She was great. Just keeping me positive and keeping me looking forward and reminding me, I’m playing a lot of good golf, but just the hardest part was just getting in that mindset once we started today…I hadn’t done it that well in a round in a really long time, so I’m probably more proud of that than I am of the score today.”
Main Photo Credit: © Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images
