Justin Thomas switched again to his Scotty Cameron X5 mallet this week.
Jonathan Wall
Justin Thomas is in competition for his first win in almost two-and-a-half years this week on the Zozo Championship and an enormous purpose why is
The 2-time main winner’s 2024 was a lot better than his dismal 2023 marketing campaign the place he did not make the coveted FedEx Cup high 50.
Nevertheless it nonetheless wasn’t as much as the Justin Thomas normal we’ve change into used to as a perennial contender on the PGA Tour. Thomas wasn’t supplied a spot on the Presidents Cup workforce like he was for the 2023 Ryder Cup workforce based mostly on his previous document.
An enormous purpose why Thomas nonetheless hasn’t received because the 2022 PGA Championship is that his placing this season was really worse than it was a yr in the past. Thomas’ ball placing numbers have been again to what we’re used to, rating eleventh this yr in strokes gained: method, up from thirty ninth in 2023, however he misplaced almost half a stroke on the greens per spherical, nearly .35 strokes worse than final yr and all the way down to 167th on Tour.
As one can think about, he’s been making an attempt a myriad of various putters this season making an attempt to treatment his struggles on the greens. He began the yr utilizing his acquainted Scotty Cameron X5 mallet, a putter he used to win the 2017 PGA Championship and 2021 Gamers Championship. The putter encompasses a dual-wing design and wielded stream neck to provide the mallet extra blade-like properties.
However that putter was switched out by the Masters with an identical however newer T5 mallet. That putter lasted until the memorial when Thomas utterly modified appears to be like and went with a Scotty Cameron G.S.S. blade putter that was initially made for and given to him by Vanderbilt standout Gordon Sargent.
3 causes to imagine Justin Thomas can get his first win in 2.5 years
The blade was solely within the bag for a few month earlier than he inserted a Cameron Phantom 9.2 Tour prototype mallet, a very new and greater form to him. That putter stayed within the bag till this week when “previous dependable,” the X5 mallet he began the yr with, was again in play this week in Japan.
“Yeah, it was good. I made some good putts,” Thomas stated after his opening-round 66, the place he gained .238 strokes placing. “Even some putts that I missed I felt like they have been good putts. I burned a pair edges. When greens have this a lot break, you actually should be exact together with your velocity and matching every thing up. I really feel like I did a very good job of that.”
Thomas’ really feel is one factor, however the stats again him up. Via three rounds this week, Thomas is twenty ninth within the 77-man area, gaining simply over a stroke on the greens for the week. The 1.099 mark is already almost double his greatest four-round complete this season of .663.
