Through 54 holes of the Hero World Challenge, Justin Thomas holds a one-stroke advantage over Scotty Scheffler. Two-time PGA Champion Justin Thomas is the only player to shoot a three-round 67 or worse.
He's been smashing balls off the tee with a new long driver, which helps explain his success. He ranks first in strokes gained off the tee and third in average distance. He hit his tee shot 378 yards. I also drove the 7th green. Saturday's hole was 359 yards.
“Driving great. I had great confidence in it [my new driver]” Thomas said.
“I feel like I've been able to put myself in a pretty good position when I go to the green. There are still things that I haven't been able to utilize as much as I would like, but that's golf. I feel like I can tighten it up a little bit more. [on Sunday]Drive a little better and who knows what the conditions will be, but at least you'll have a better chance of birdie. ”
Thomas is 17 under par and only had two bogeys all week. He's been playing solid, clean golf, but unfortunately he hasn't played in a long time. Sure, he's had solid spurts here and there, like his T-8 record at this year's PGA Championship and five other top-10 records. He also advanced to East Lake, proving that his 2024 season was much better than his career-low 2023.
However, Thomas hasn't won a tournament since a come-from-behind victory at Southern Hills in 2022. Since then, Thomas has missed the cut in five of his 10 starts in the majors.
“We're on track and doing all the right things,” Thomas said.
“Feel like you're seeing signs of improvement. That's what you want and that's all I can do. I can't control other people or what's going on. As much as I can. I have to keep playing well and I hope it's enough by Sunday.”
If he continues to drive like he did on Sunday, Thomas will be a tough guy to beat. And if he can fend off Schaeffler and win with his new driver, Thomas will have all the confidence in the world heading into 2025.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
