Justin Thomas is atop the PGA Tour leaderboard for the first time in a long time.
He shot an impressive 8-under 62 with 8 birdies and 8 pars to vault himself to the top of the Genesis Scottish Open leaderboard after the first round. Surprisingly, Thomas hasn’t held the lead at least at the end of a round since beating Will Zalatoris in a thrilling playoff at the 2022 Southern Hills PGA Championship. Golf Statistician Justin Ray After Thomas’ round he offered this startling statistic:
“It’s always good to start well, but it’s even better to start great. I felt like I had everything under control. When I missed, I missed in the right places and I hit a lot of really quality shots,” Thomas said Thursday.
“Like any golfer, I would have liked to finish the last five holes a little better, but I played really solid today. My par putt on 17 was big. I love to finish without a bogey, so that was good. I think after 18 it would have felt different.”
Thomas looked especially good in the first nine holes, scoring five birdies. On the par-four first hole, the former Alabama star sank a par-breaker from 13 feet for a stunning three-birdie streak that hinted at things to come.
Four consecutive birdies from the fifth through eighth holes followed and Thomas suddenly found himself near the top of the leaderboard going into the final nine holes.
Thomas also birdied the 10th, 12th and 13th holes. A 42-foot blast on the par-3 12th hole.
“When you get in that mode, you feel more confident,” Thomas explained.
“Obviously, it’s very easy to find a links golf course, weather-wise and conditions-wise. If you hit it well, like I did most of the time, your club will be short and you’ll only see the pin. If there’s a slope, you have the opportunity to get the ball closer to the pin, but if you get a good number, most of the time you’ll just look at how to get as close to the pin as possible and you’re not afraid to do that.”
Thomas came close to birdie multiple times, including five of his eight from within six feet. He stayed focused all day until he nearly shanked the ball on the par-5 16th hole, but still two-putted for par, proving just how good he played on Thursday.
Thomas, a two-time major winner, is one stroke behind Sungjae Lim after Friday’s round. It remains to be seen if he can maintain this high level of play, but no one would be surprised to see him lurking atop the leaderboard throughout the weekend. He has quietly done so on multiple occasions throughout 2024, most recently tying for fifth at the Travelers Championship. But he has yet to record a win since Southern Hills, and Thomas won’t be completely satisfied with himself and his game until he ends this two-year drought.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
