Almost three years after his brilliant victory at the PGA Championship, Justin Thomas won again. He did so this Sunday, defeating his compatriot Andrew Novak in the playoff at the RBC Heritage. A sought-after, much-needed victory in which the significant improvement experienced by the golfer from Louisville on the greens played a major role. A return to his roots with the putter, greatly influenced by a conversation at the end of last year with Xander Schauffele…
“I was telling Todd a few days ago that, although there’s been a lot of work, a big help was talking to Xander at the end of last year. I think he’s one of the best in putting fundamentals, and I asked if I could pick his brain for a couple of hours,” JT revealed in his press conference after the tournament. “He came out on the course with me and started asking me questions. And in answering him, I realised that many of the things I used to do when I was a great putter in 2017 and 2018, I wasn’t doing anymore. He said: ‘You used to have a solid base; now you don’t have a base to return to.’ It was a wake-up call. I realised I was trying too many different things and had strayed from what I did well. So I went back to my fundamentals, my routines, and I think that consistency has been key.”
“Although there’s been a lot of work, a big help was talking to Xander at the end of last year, I think he’s one of the best in putting fundamentals”
Justin, after this revealing conversation, seemed to understand that over the years he had changed his play on the greens, something that was clearly a mistake: “More than anything, it’s that putting is the only part of golf where you can’t force anything. If I’m not hitting the ball well, I can improvise a shot with the driver, move forward… But if I don’t have confidence with the putter, I can’t ‘invent’ a line. If it’s left edge, it’s left edge. Period. I’m a very intuitive player, very much about feel. And I became too mechanical and robotic when putting. And that’s not me. I do better with what I call ‘pro-am putting’: quick look, feel the line, and go. When I don’t think too much, I make more. I think the problem was more mental than technical.”
Yesterday, besides his spectacular seven-metre putt in the playoff to win, Justin holed two other crucial ones in his round, on holes 4 and 8. Two very important moments on the way to the title: “I’d say the putts on 4 and 8 were key. On hole 4, I made a putt of about two and a half metres for par. They were very important. I remember telling myself in Tampa that, being a bit behind on the leaderboard on Sunday, if I could have a bogey-free round, it would be huge because others would probably make one, or more. I placed a lot of importance on that, on playing smart and choosing well when to attack. So making those putts and sinking them with conviction, down the middle, at the speed I wanted, was key for my confidence. Joe was telling me: ‘Put it on the fairway and on the green, you’re putting so well that you’ll start making birdies instead of fighting for pars.’ If I don’t make those putts on 4 and 8, the day could have been completely different, and I would have had to take more risks on the last holes instead of staying patient.”
Precisely that, staying patient, was one of the keys to his sought-after victory at this RBC Heritage: “Probably yes. But honestly, I putted the ball incredibly today. I played very, very well. From tee to green, I didn’t feel like I hit many bad shots. It’s very fun to place yourself on holes like 17, even if it’s a 9-iron, but you have to hit it perfectly to get it into that small window and land it where you want, and execute those kinds of shots… even though I missed the putt on 17, I hit it just the way I wanted, and it almost went in. I felt like I had everything under control. I never felt like I had to force anything or that I was waiting for miracles. I just told myself: let’s keep playing, and I’ll make birdies when I can. Patience was key, but those par putts on the early holes were huge for maintaining momentum.”
“It had been so long without winning that no one asked me about it anymore, it was behind me”
For Justin, who was curiously ‘debuting’ a caddie due to the injury of his usual companion, winning again on the PGA Tour was a relief. As he himself confessed, it had been so long since his previous victory that practically no one asked him about it anymore. But on a personal level, he knew he needed it to regain confidence in his golf: “I would say yes. It was the last thing I needed. It’s hard to know where you are in your career until it’s over. But for me, personally, it was something I needed to do to feel good. It had been so long without winning that no one asked me about it anymore. It was behind me. So yes, I’m much happier for myself than for anything else related to that topic.”
To win, by the way, he had to beat Andrew Novak in the playoff, a rival he met some time ago… and quickly discovered his enormous level: “Curiously, yes. Joe asked me in the playoff if I had played with him. And I said yes, once at the Travelers. I wanted to play the back nine in the practice round, I ran into him and Ben Griffin and asked if I could join them. They let me. That day Andrew shot 59 at TPC River Highlands. So I told Joe: ‘Yes, I’ve played with him, and he shot 59.’ I knew he was very good. And he showed it, especially with that shot to 18.” A great shot to secure par and force the playoff… where he ultimately could only applaud the accuracy with the putter of Justin Thomas. A great player who returns in time for his return to the PGA Championship, his previous major triumph.
