The relationship between Augusta National and Justin Thomas is unwavering yet complicated. Strong yet frustrating.<\/p>\n
For a student of the game like Thomas, he appreciates and embraces the history that Augusta National provides.<\/p>\n
His results at the Masters<\/a>, however, haven\u2019t reached the World No. 3\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n Through 36 holes of the 2020 Masters, Thomas is one of four co-leaders at nine-under-par. On a soft golf course, Thomas relied on his strong ball-striking and approach game. His three-under second-round 69 puts him in a stellar position to contend for his second major championship, his first coming at the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s definitely not as low as I feel like I could or should be, but we’re in a good position going into the weekend,\u201d\u00a0Thomas said to reporters after his round.<\/a><\/p>\n Thomas got the typical 36-hole Masters leader treatment on Friday. ESPN\u2019s Scott Van Pelt interviewed the 27-year-old in Butler Cabin, home of the long-standing Green Jacket ceremony on Sunday.<\/p>\n But as Thomas noted, he never walked into Butler Cabin before.<\/p>\n He isn\u2019t a Masters champion (yet), so that\u2019s one reason why. But the other more surprising rationale is Thomas\u2019 underperformance at the Masters, for a consistent winner on the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n In his first Masters in 2016, Thomas finished tied for 39th, with a score to par of plus-10. Every year since, Thomas improved, including his best finish at the Masters to date in 2019 with a tie for 12th.<\/p>\n Only in two of Thomas\u2019 four Masters appearances, he finished the tournament under par. Never before had Thomas shot an under-par first round at Augusta National, until Thursday when he shot 66.<\/p>\n Thomas\u2019 second round didn\u2019t get off to the best of starts, with a double bogey on the first. The recipe to get him back into the tournament was his stellar iron game, leading the field in proximity to the hole for the second round (20 feet, 4 inches).<\/p>\n Thomas was always a great iron player but every year of his PGA Tour career, he ascended as the best approach player in the game. In 2020, Thomas finished first in strokes gained: approach the green (.997 average). At a golf course like Augusta, which rewards those who convert the second shot, Thomas has an edge over the field.<\/p>\n Justin Thomas makes adept use of the contours of the green to get up-and-down for birdie on No. 8. #themasters<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WDd27p50Ww<\/a><\/p>\n — The Masters (@TheMasters) November 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n