Justin Thomas showed glimpses of his old self as he shot a scintillating 62 to set the pace at the Scottish Open after the first round.
The 31-year-old carded a bogey-free, eight-under 62 to take a one-stroke lead over Sungjae Im at The Renaissance Club.
Amazingly, it is the first time Thomas – a two-time Major winner and former world No.1 – has led a PGA Tour event since his victory at the 2022 PGA Championship 781 days ago.
He said he was delighted with the “great” start to his tournament and felt in control of his game throughout the day.
“Yeah it was nice,” he said after his round. “It’s always good to get off to a good start and even better to get off to a great one. I felt like I was in great control of everything. When I missed it, I missed it in the right spots. I hit a lot of quality shots and capitalized on those four, five, six footers to kind of make something of them. I stole a couple with some long- or mid-range putts.”
One of those putts came at the first as Thomas sunk a 13-footer to get off to the perfect start, before going on a run of four straight birdies on the fifth to eighth holes to shoot 30 for his front nine.
He then added three more birdies after the turn before cooling off a little with five-straight pars to finish his round, including sinking a clutch 10-foot putt on 17 to stay bogey-free.
“Like any golfer I would’ve loved to have finished those last five holes a little bit better but I played really solid today,” he said. “And that par putt on 17 was huge. I love going bogey-free so it was nice. I would have had a different taste in my mouth I think walking off 18.”
It was the 54th time in the last decade that Thomas made eight or more birdies in a round – a record on the PGA Tour and a reminder that the 15-time winner who was once the best player in the world might not be done just yet.
Most @PGATOUR rounds with 8+ birdies/eagles since beginning of 2014 season:Justin Thomas, 54 (includes today)Jordan Spieth, 48Tony Finau, 39Hideki Matsuyama, 35July 11, 2024
Asked about his distinct ability to make birdies, Thomas said: “I’m confident when I get into that mode. Obviously this is as easy as you’re going to get at a links golf course, weather wise and conditions. If you drive it well like I did for the most…
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