Certain things can weigh you down. It’s easy to brush them aside, but they always pile up. And, before you know you’re down the rabbit hole, struggling to get out. That’s what Justin Thomas realized after going through the worst slump in his garlanded career. Three missed cuts in as many Majors and T65 in the PGA Championship are not the usual expectations from the 30-year-old. 

And, Justin Thomas has lofty ambitions. One look at his yearly checklist will tell you that. A season without any silverware was not something he would be content with. And Thomas sure wasn’t. But that also taught him a few important lessons.

Thomas won the PGA Championship in May 2022. That was also the last major he won. Also, that was the last time he snatched a title on the PGA Tour. Unbelievable as it may sound, the winless streak has gone over for almost two years now. “That’s a pretty shi–y feeling,” even Justin Thomas admits.

Thomas kept checking clips of his swing. His technique, the 30-year-old felt, was way off the mark from what landed him 15 PGA Tour victories. Thomas, though, had a late realization. “You just can’t fake it and convince yourself you’re playing great and swinging great if you’re not. But what I’ve learned is that you’re never really as far away as you think.”

That realization was the result of a few sessions with Julie Elion, a sports psychologist. “It’s what Julie kept hammering into me: ‘It’s going to end. You’re not going to always continue to play so bad.’ The media, and what people are telling you, it makes it seem worse and bigger than it is,” the two-time Major champion told NBC Sports. 

So for Thomas and Elion, the job was to cut down the weight he was reeling under. But that is something endemic to men in general, Thomas feels. Brushing aside the worries, thinking that you can handle it alone, is also what makes it worse. 

Thomas has learned the value of patience

Justin Thomas added, “I think it’s a very normal thing… we’re men, and we’re just supposed to push things away, and if you actually have or express feelings, you’re soft.” Yes, some matters can be handled with mental fortitude. But some matters pile up if shoved too deep. “[O]ver a handful of years, if you just push stuff down, and you haven’t really gotten it out and talked about it, then it can wear on you so much more than you think.”

Why Justin Thomas’s Stern LIV Golf Verdict Amid Rory McIlroy’s Softened Stance Signals Changing Tides Within the PGA Tour

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