Justin Thomas Makes Honest Admission About His Game Despite Hot Start at East Lake

Midway through the first round of the 2025 TOUR Championship, Justin Thomas looked like he had his eyes set on winning it. After just nine holes, the 16-time PGA Tour champ ran through the leaderboard with a 6-under with six flawless birdies to help him get ahead. He scored the lowest front-9 score of his career, completing half the round in just 29 strokes of the regulated 35. In the next 27 holes, Thomas could only muster another 1 more stroke to go 7-under after two rounds. And that has forced him to reflect on his form in an honest outtake.

Justin shared a post on Instagram with a few pictures and a clip of himself from East Lake. The caption read, “Tour champ 50% over, game hasn’t quite been 100%, but the sweat level has stayed 100%.” Despite the drop in form after the first 9 holes, he is still battling out there to get the best result he can in the situation. His mention of 100% sweat suggests that he will still try to do everything possible to win, even if he is not in a prime position to dominate the tournament after two rounds.

Unfortunately, Thomas’s efforts got derailed in the first round after a double bogey on the 16th hole. Until that point, he had the clubhouse lead on the field. He couldn’t find the same rhythm in the front 9 of the second round, as he only managed two birdies. A bogey on the 10th hole meant that Thomas could only manage to end round two with a 1-under 69. With 36 more holes to play, he will have a tall mountain to climb as 6 strokes separate him from the top of the leaderboard. And Russell Henley and Tommy Fleetwood are not looking to slow down at the moment.

Having said that, Justin Thomas is no stranger to pulling off miracles. Let’s take a look at one of the biggest wins of his career that demanded a huge comeback.

Justin Thomas is always a threat

Until the second round of the 2022 PGA Championship, Justin Thomas was a contender for the title. However, a 4-over 74 in the third round pushed him to T7, 7 strokes away from the top of the leaderboard at the end of 54 holes. He had essentially pushed himself out of contention for his second major at Southern Hills Country Club. However, his performance on Championship Sunday, coupled with the misfortune of Mito Pereira and Will Zalatoris, meant Thomas was going back in the running for the major. And he grabbed the opportunity with both hands.

Thomas shot a 3-under 67 in the final round. Pereira, who was 7 strokes ahead of him, went 5-over 75 to drop 1 point below him. Zalatoris, who was 4 strokes ahead of Thomas, managed a +1 to tie with the 32-year-old. In the end, after three rounds of playoffs, Justin Thomas came out on top to win the 2022 PGA Championship for the second time in his career. Granted that a lot of what happened in Tulsa that year was dependent on luck, but there is no reason he can’t achieve the same feat at East Lake as well. Especially, since he is enjoying playing in the new format of the TOUR Championship, as he expressed at the end of the first round.