Last week, Rory McIlroy ended his nearly 11-year major-less streak with a win at Augusta National.
This weekend, Justin Thomas will look to end a winless streak that dates back to May 2022.
Thomas (-12) will enter the weekend with a two-shot lead over his closest competitors Si Woo Kim and Russell Henley (both -10). The 31-year-old got off to a hot start on Thursday, tying the course record at Harbour Town with a 10-under-par 61. His round included a whopping 11 birdies.
Friday didn’t go quite as smoothly for the two-time major champion. Thomas paired four birdies with two bogeys and struggled to hit fairways for most of his round. Despite the hiccups, he managed to keep it together and take a lead into the weekend.
After his round, Thomas spoke to the media and made honest admission in regard to his winning drought.
“I’d say the majority of it has just been pressing and trying too hard. It’s so—I mean, all of us, I would assume, want to win so bad and I want to win so bad. I’m sick of getting asked,” Thomas said. “I almost feel like I’m kind of past the point where fortunately you all have stopped asking me, which is nice, but I would also prefer to get that over with.”
To “get it over with” Thomas will need to outlast several world-class competitors. Kim and Henley are two shots behind Thomas, while also lurking are Collin Morikawa (-7), Scottie Scheffler (-8) and Tommy Fleetwood (-9).
To win, Thomas believes he needs to “trust his ability” in the same way he did that netted him 15 PGA Tour wins between 2015 and 2022.
“I think it’s just that's something I feel like I did so, so well there for a couple of years is I just let tournaments come to me and I just trusted in my ability,” Thomas reflected. “That’s just really been my key this week is I’m just trying to really trust my game and commit to what I’m doing.
“I have a lot of faith and confidence in what I can do. So, I just need to let it happen.”
Thomas will tee it up alongside Si Woo Kim at 2 p.m. ET for Saturday's third round.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Justin Thomas Gives Honest Admission About His Three-Year Drought on PGA Tour.
