Justin Thomas thinks he has had a nice season. He knows how to erase all doubts.
“I definitely know three ways I could make it a lot happier and feel a lot better about it,” he said Wednesday in Memphis as he prepares for the first of three FedEx Cup Playoff events this week.
Thomas arrived at TPC Southwind for the FedEx St. Jude Championship ranked No. 6 in the FedEx Cup standings and No. 4 in the world rankings.
“I’m definitely not going to make any judgments or assess anything for the time being with three big events left and three tournaments I feel like I could have a good chance to go out and try to win and put myself in contention,” he said. “That’s the goal, just to try to do that each week. I’m teeing it up these next three, and hopefully we can try to get a couple of them and ultimately the FedEx Cup.
“It’s hard to say right now but ask me again in three weeks hopefully.”
Thomas, 32, won his 16th career PGA Tour title at the RBC Heritage in April and also has runner-up finishes this year at The American Express in January, the Valspar Championship in March and the Truist Championship in May.
He has not played since finishing T34 at The Open Championship in Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland, a nice bounce back after missing the cuts at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.
“It was just nice to honestly take some time away, just relax a little bit, not do much and get back into it,” Thomas said of the past couple of weeks. “I think at least for me, the time off is nice to where I’m excited to go out to the course and practice and feel like I’m getting ready for something again because if not it can become a little — some days wake up and maybe not quite as motivated or excited as others.
“Honestly, just happy to be here and rested and refreshed.”
Thomas finished T30 in Memphis last year, 12 shots behind winner Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
After playing the back nine on Wednesday morning, Thomas said he was impressed with the recent changes and updates made to the course.
“The course looks awesome,” he said. “Obviously having been closed with the changes and no play, it’s in unbelievable shape. The fairways are so perfect. The greens are brand new. They’re firm but they’re some of the best surfaces that we’ll ever putt on.”
Thomas said he wants to finish strong and earn his place on captain Keegan Bradley’s U.S. Ryder Cup team for September showdown at New York’s Bethpage Black.
“I want to be in that top six,” he said. “Just for me personally, it just would mean a lot to me to get that done because having been picked or having to rely on a pick a couple times, I definitely like the level of low stress and just the sense of calm knowing that you’re qualified versus waiting for that phone to ring.”
–Field Level Media
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