Justin Thomas spent three rounds hanging on at Muirfield Village before closing with a 65. After finishing 19th at the Memorial Tournament, Thomas walked away praising the winner, JT Poston, rather than dwelling on his week.

Thomas posted on his IG story: “Last week at @memorialgolf was a difficult test as always; add some brutal wind, and it became hang on for dear life!! Hats off to @jtposton, he played some incredible golf. Next up: @usopengolf.”

This was Poston’s first win since the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open, and it indeed was a big one. He earned a whopping $4 million from the $20 million prize money. The match went into a playoff and was settled on the second hole when Ryan Gerard missed a five-foot putt.

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Even before the tournament ended, JT had talked highly of Poston after seeing how well he played on Friday.

Poston shot 65 in the second round, and JT shot 75. Thomas needed a par save on the 18th to make the cut, and after he did, he hugged his playing partner, Rory McIlroy. Both of these polar-opposite performances happened on a day when the field was battling 25 mph winds shifting in unexpected directions

“I don’t think I can put into words how good @JT_ThePostman round was today… I’m out there trying to figure out where and how I can make ONE birdie, let alone shooting -7! Today was probably the most difficult round I’ve played on tour. On to the weekend!” Thomas wrote.

Thomas described Friday as the hardest round of his career: “I can’t put into words how hard that was. That was the hardest round of golf that I can remember, major or non-major. The wind wasn’t really in the direction it was supposed to be or kind of forecasted to be for half the day, and that usually isn’t something that happens when it’s at 20 or 25 miles an hour. It was just hard.”

Talking about JT’s year, it’s a mixed bag. He missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer, finished 41st at the Masters, and was T-77 at the RBC Heritage. His better results this year were T-4 at the PGA Championship and 13th at the Truist Championship and the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Thomas and Poston were teammates on the 2022 US Presidents Cup team, which makes the shoutout more than just a professional courtesy.

Overall, at Muirfield, Thomas carded 74-75-72-65. He is skipping the RBC Canadian Open, and his next destination is the U.S. Open.

Can Justin Thomas finally end his U.S. Open drought at Shinnecock Hills?

Thomas has not won a major since the 2022 PGA Championship, and the US Open has been his worst hunting ground recently. At this major, he has had three straight missed cuts in 2023, 2024, and 2025. His best finishes have been T-8 at Winged Foot in 2020 and T-9 at Erin Hills in 2017.

Shinnecock Hills last hosted the US Open in 2018, where Thomas shot 74-70-74-74 to finish T-25 at 12-over. The course on New York’s Long Island is ranked 4th on America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses list, with its history dating back to 1891.

Scheffler, McIlroy, and Aberg are all in the field, and they won’t be easy to play against, but the good news for Thomas is that his closing 65 at Muirfield and a T-4 at the PGA Championship a few weeks back showed that his game is not entirely gone.