Justin Louis Thomas (born April 29, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and is former World Number One. In 2017, Thomas experienced a breakout year, winning five PGA Tour events and the FedEx Cup championship. He has won two major golf championships, winning the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022. In May 2018, Thomas became the 21st player to top the Official World Golf Ranking.
| Justin Thomas | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_after_winning_the_2017_PGA_Championship.png) Thomas after winning the 2017 PGA Championship | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Full name | Justin Louis Thomas | ||||||||||
| Nickname | JT | ||||||||||
| Born | April 29, 1993 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) | ||||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||||||
| Residence | Jupiter, Florida, U.S.[1] | ||||||||||
| Spouse | Jillian Wisniewski (m. 2022) | ||||||||||
| Career | |||||||||||
| College | University of Alabama | ||||||||||
| Turned professional | 2013 | ||||||||||
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||||||||||
| Former tour(s) | European Tour Web.com Tour | ||||||||||
| Professional wins | 17 | ||||||||||
| Highest ranking | 1 (May 13, 2018)[2] (5 weeks) | ||||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||||
| PGA Tour | 15 | ||||||||||
| European Tour | 4 | ||||||||||
| Asian Tour | 2 | ||||||||||
| Korn Ferry Tour | 1 | ||||||||||
| Other | 1 | ||||||||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 2) | |||||||||||
| Masters Tournament | 4th: 2020 | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | Won: 2017, 2022 | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | T8: 2020 | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | T11: 2019 | ||||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Early years and education
Thomas was born on April 29, 1993, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended North Oldham Middle School. Prior to his junior year in high school, he played in the Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour in August 2009 and became the third-youngest to make the cut in a PGA Tour event, at 16 years, 3 months and 24 days.[3] Thomas graduated from St. Xavier High School in 2011.[4]
Thomas played college golf at the University of Alabama, where he placed first six times for the Crimson Tide.[5] As a freshman in 2012, he won the Haskins Award as the most outstanding collegiate golfer. He was on the national championship team of 2013.[6]
Thomas' father, Mike Thomas, has been the head professional at the Harmony Landing Country Club in Goshen, Kentucky, since 1990. Thomas grew up an avid fan of his hometown Louisville Cardinals.[7]
Professional career
Thomas turned professional in 2013 and earned his tour card on the Web.com Tour through qualifying school. He won his first professional event at the 2014 Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship.[8] Thomas finished fifth in the 2014 Web.com Tour regular season, and third after the Web.com Tour Finals, and earned his PGA Tour card for the 2015 season. In 2015, Thomas collected seven top-10s and 15 top-25s, with fourth-place finishes at the Quicken Loans National and Sanderson Farms Championship as his best results. He finished 32nd at the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup, losing the Rookie of the Year award to Daniel Berger.
On November 1, 2015, Thomas earned his first victory on the PGA Tour by winning the CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by a single stroke over Adam Scott. He overcame a double bogey on the 14th hole during the final round and holed a six-foot (1.8 m) par putt to claim the win by a stroke. Thomas had earlier shot a course-record 61 during the second round to contribute to a 26-under-par winning score.[9]
2016–17 PGA Tour: five wins, first major, FedEx Cup champion, Player of the Year
Thomas successfully defended his title at the CIMB Classic in October 2016 for his second tour win. Thomas won the SBS Tournament of Champions in January 2017 for his third PGA Tour win.[10] In the following week's tournament, the Sony Open in Hawaii, Thomas became the seventh player in PGA Tour history to shoot a 59. During the first round, he opened his round with an eagle and needed to make an eagle on the ninth, his last hole of the day, to shoot 59.[11] He became the youngest player to shoot a sub-60 round. Thomas finished with rounds of 64, 65, and 65 to win the tournament by 7 strokes. He set tournament records for 18, 36, 54, and 72 holes (59, 123, 188, and 253, respectively). He set PGA Tour records at 36 and 72 holes and tied the 54-hole record.[12]
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Out | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 70 |
| Score | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 59 |
During the third round of the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, Thomas equalled the U.S. Open single-round record of 63. He eagled the last hole by hitting his 3-wood to 8 feet on the par-5 hole to finish at 9-under-par, also a U.S. Open record, passing the previous record held by Johnny Miller at Oakmont Country Club. In the fourth round, he played alongside Brian Harman in the final grouping, the first time he had done that in a major championship. He shot a three-over-par 75 and finished in a tie for ninth place.
In August 2017, Thomas won his first major, the 2017 PGA Championship, winning by two shots.[13]
At the Dell Technologies Championship, Thomas became just the fourth golfer to win five times, including a major, in a PGA Tour season since 1960 before his 25th birthday, joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Jordan Spieth.[14][15]
After finishing runner-up to Xander Schauffele at the Tour Championship, Thomas became the FedEx Cup champion on September 24, 2017.[16]
2017–18 PGA Tour
In October 2017, Thomas won the third event of the 2017–18 season, the CJ Cup in South Korea. He defeated Marc Leishman with a birdie on the second extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. The win was Thomas' seventh on the PGA Tour.[17]
In February 2018, Thomas won for the eighth time on tour, claiming victory at The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He birdied the final hole of regulation play to make a playoff with Luke List. Then on the first extra hole, Thomas made birdie again on the same hole, after a 5-wood from the fairway. List could not hole his birdie putt, after the missing the green to the right, resulting in Thomas winning the tournament. The win lifted Thomas to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and number three in world rankings.[18]
The following week, Thomas lost in a sudden-death playoff to Phil Mickelson, at the WGC-Mexico Championship. He had been even par for the tournament after the first two rounds, but then shot 62–64 over the weekend for a total of 16 under par. To finish his final round, Thomas holed his second shot to the 18th for eagle. Thomas lost the playoff to par, after going over the back of the green in the first extra hole and failing to up and down for par. Thomas moved to number two in the world rankings, a career best ranking.
Thomas had another chance to claim the top spot in the world later on in March at the WGC-Match Play, but he was beaten 3 & 2 by Bubba Watson in the semi-finals. He then went on to lose the consolation match 5 & 3 to Alex Norén to finish in fourth place. The result extended his lead at the top of the FedEx Cup standings and reduced the gap on the world number one, Dustin Johnson.
After the 2018 Players Championship, Thomas replaced Johnson as the world number one golfer. He lost that ranking after four weeks when Johnson won the FedEx St. Jude Classic.[19][20]
In September 2018, Thomas qualified for the U.S. team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 1/2 to 10 1/2. Notwithstanding the loss, Thomas played well. He went 4–1–0. He won his singles match against Rory McIlroy.[21]
2018–19 PGA Tour
.jpg)
On February 17, 2019, Thomas led the Genesis Open entering the final round. Gusty conditions led to Thomas shooting 75 and finishing second to champion J. B. Holmes. At one point, Thomas four-putted for a double bogey, the last three putts were inside 8 feet and the final miss was from 2 feet.[22]
On August 18, 2019, Thomas shot 25-under-par and won the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club outside of Chicago. This was the second leg of the three-tournament 2019 FedEx Cup Playoffs and put Thomas in the lead in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.[23]
2019–20 PGA Tour
On October 20, 2019, Thomas won the CJ Cup in South Korea. This was his second win of the tournament in its three-year existence.[24]
In December 2019, Thomas played on the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. Thomas went 3–1–1 and lost his Sunday singles match against Cameron Smith.[25]
On January 5, 2020, Thomas won the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort in Maui, Hawaii for the second time. Thomas won in a playoff over Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed.[26]
On August 2, 2020, Thomas won the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Tennessee by three strokes over four other players. This was the second time that Thomas had won the event and his 13th career victory on the PGA Tour. He came from four strokes behind overnight leader Brendon Todd to prevail on the final day. The win took Thomas to Number One in the Official World Golf Ranking for the second time in his career.[27]
2020–21 PGA Tour
In March 2021, Thomas shot a final round four-under par 68 to win the 2021 Players Championship by one stroke over Lee Westwood.[28]
In September 2021, Thomas played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Thomas went 2–1–1 and won his Sunday singles match against Tyrrell Hatton.
2021–22 PGA Tour: one win, second major
For the 2021–22 season, Thomas employed Jim "Bones" Mackay to replace his previous caddie, Jimmy Johnson. The last round of golf Johnson caddied for Thomas was at the 2021 Ryder Cup. Mackay stepped into the role at the CJ Cup.
On May 22, 2022, Thomas won his second major and second PGA Championship, defeating Will Zalatoris in a playoff, overcoming a PGA Championship record 7-shot deficit entering the day.[29]
2022–23 PGA Tour
Thomas qualified for the U.S. team at the 2022 Presidents Cup; he won all four matches paired with Jordan Spieth but lost in the singles.[30]
In September 2023, Thomas played on the U.S. team in the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Guidonia, Rome, Italy. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Thomas went 1–2–1 including a win in his Sunday singles match against Sepp Straka.
In November 2023, Thomas competed in the inaugural Netflix Cup, streamed as Netflix's first live sports broadcast. Thomas and Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz Jr. played as a team, with the pair winning the event after Thomas won the "Closest to the Pin" style playoff, following 8 holes of scramble-format competition.[31]
Controversy
On January 9, 2021, during the third round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, Thomas drew criticism for using a homophobic slur to express anger over a missed putt.[32] Despite Thomas expressing contrition over the incident, describing his language as "inexcusable", sponsors Ralph Lauren and Woodford Reserve ended their relationships with him.[33][34]
Amateur wins
Professional wins (17)
PGA Tour wins (15)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (2) |
| Players Championships (1) |
| World Golf Championships (2) |
| FedEx Cup playoff events (2) |
| Other PGA Tour (8) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 1, 2015 | CIMB Classic1 | 68-61-67-66=262 | −26 | 1 stroke |  Adam Scott |
| 2 | Oct 23, 2016 | CIMB Classic1 (2) | 64-66-71-64=265 | −23 | 3 strokes |  Hideki Matsuyama |
| 3 | Jan 8, 2017 | SBS Tournament of Champions | 67-67-67-69=270 | −22 | 3 strokes | Hideki Matsuyama |
| 4 | Jan 15, 2017 | Sony Open in Hawaii | 59-64-65-65=253 | −27 | 7 strokes |  Justin Rose |
| 5 | Aug 13, 2017 | PGA Championship | 73-66-69-68=276 | −8 | 2 strokes |  Francesco Molinari,  Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed |
| 6 | Sep 4, 2017 | Dell Technologies Championship | 71-67-63-66=267 | −17 | 3 strokes | Jordan Spieth |
| 7 | Oct 22, 2017 | CJ Cup | 63-74-70-72=279 | −9 | Playoff | Marc Leishman |
| 8 | Feb 25, 2018 | The Honda Classic | 67-72-65-68=272 | −8 | Playoff | Luke List |
| 9 | Aug 5, 2018 | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | 65-64-67-69=265 | −15 | 4 strokes | Kyle Stanley |
| 10 | Aug 18, 2019 | BMW Championship | 65-69-61-68=263 | −25 | 3 strokes | Patrick Cantlay |
| 11 | Oct 20, 2019 | CJ Cup (2) | 68-63-70-67=268 | −20 | 2 strokes |  Danny Lee |
| 12 | Jan 5, 2020 | Sentry Tournament of Champions (2) | 67-73-69-69=278 | −14 | Playoff | Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele |
| 13 | Aug 2, 2020 | WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (2) | 66-70-66-65=267 | −13 | 3 strokes | Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Tom Lewis, Phil Mickelson |
| 14 | Mar 14, 2021 | The Players Championship | 71-71-64-68=274 | −14 | 1 stroke | Lee Westwood |
| 15 | May 22, 2022 | PGA Championship (2) | 67-67-74-67=275 | −5 | Playoff | Will Zalatoris |
1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017 | CJ Cup | Marc Leishman | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2018 | The Honda Classic | Luke List | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2018 | WGC-Mexico Championship | Phil Mickelson | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2020 | Sentry Tournament of Champions | Patrick Reed, Xander Schauffele | Won with birdie on third extra hole Schauffele eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 5 | 2020 | Workday Charity Open | Collin Morikawa | Lost to par on third extra hole |
| 6 | 2022 | PGA Championship | Will Zalatoris | Won three-hole aggregate playoff; Thomas: −2 (4-3-4=11), Zalatoris: x (4-4-x=x) |
European Tour wins (4)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (2) |
| World Golf Championships (2) |
| Other European Tour (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 13, 2017 | PGA Championship | 73-66-69-68=276 | −8 | 2 strokes | Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed |
| 2 | Aug 5, 2018 | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | 65-64-67-69=265 | −15 | 4 strokes | Kyle Stanley |
| 3 | Aug 2, 2020 | WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (2) | 66-70-66-65=267 | −13 | 3 strokes | Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Tom Lewis, Phil Mickelson |
| 4 | May 22, 2022 | PGA Championship (2) | 67-67-74-67=275 | −5 | Playoff | Will Zalatoris |
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2018 | WGC-Mexico Championship | Phil Mickelson | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2022 | PGA Championship | Will Zalatoris | Won three-hole aggregate playoff; Thomas: −2 (4-3-4=11), Zalatoris: x (4-4-x=x) |
Web.com Tour wins (1)
| Legend |
|---|
| Finals events (1) |
| Other Web.com Tour (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 14, 2014 | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | 67-69-72-70=278 | −6 | Playoff | Richard Sterne |
Web.com Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Richard Sterne | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Other wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 20, 2020 | PNC Championship (with father Mike Thomas) | 62-57=119 | −25 | 1 stroke |  Vijay Singh and son Qass Singh |
Major championships
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | PGA Championship | 2 shot deficit | −8 (73-66-69-68=276) | 2 strokes | Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed |
| 2022 | PGA Championship (2) | 7 shot deficit | −5 (67-67-74-67=275) | Playoff1 | Will Zalatoris |
1Defeated Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff: Thomas (4-3-4=11), Zalatoris (4-4-x=x).
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T39 | T22 | T17 | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T32 | T9 | T25 | |
| The Open Championship | T53 | CUT | CUT | ||
| PGA Championship | T18 | T66 | 1 | T6 |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T12 | 4 | T21 | T8 | CUT | CUT |
| PGA Championship | T37 | CUT | 1 | T65 | T8 | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T8 | T19 | T37 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | T11 | NT | T40 | T53 | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| PGA Championship | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 8 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 6 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
| Totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 25 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2015 PGA – 2017 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)
The Players Championship
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | The Players Championship | 3 shot deficit | −14 (71-71-64-68=274) | 1 stroke | Lee Westwood |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T24 | T3 | T75 | T11 | T35 | C | 1 | T33 | T60 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
World Golf Championships
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | WGC-Bridgestone Invitational | 3 shot lead | −15 (65-64-67-69=265) | 4 strokes | Kyle Stanley |
| 2020 | WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational (2) | 4 shot deficit | −13 (66-70-66-65=267) | 3 strokes | Daniel Berger, Brooks Koepka, Tom Lewis, Phil Mickelson |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T35 | T5 | 2 | 9 | T6 | T15 | ||
| Match Play | T61 | T39 | 4 | T24 | NT1 | T42 | T35 | |
| Invitational | T33 | T28 | 1 | T12 | 1 | T26 | ||
| Champions | T27 | T23 | NT1 | NT1 | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the Championship and Invitational were discontinued from 2022.
PGA Tour career summary
| Season | Starts | Cuts made | Wins (majors) | 2nd | 3rd | Top-10 | Top-25 | Best finish | Earnings ($) | Money list rank | Scoring avg (adj) | Scoring rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T78 | n/a | – | 70.56 | |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T46 | n/a | – | 69.38 | |
| 2013 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | T30 | n/a | – | 69.57 | |
| 2013–14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | T10 | 170,237 | – | 71.39 | |
| 2014–15 | 30 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 15 | T4 | 2,278,564 | 37[35] | 70.10 | 16[36] |
| 2015–16 | 28 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 4,126,366 | 11[37] | 70.57 | 47[38] |
| 2016–17 | 25 | 19 | 5 (1) | 1 | 0 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 9,921,560 | 1[39] | 69.36 | 3[40] |
| 2017–18 | 23 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 8,694,821 | 1[41] | 69.12 | 3[42] |
| 2018–19 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 5,013,084 | 8[43] | 69.47 | 5[44] |
| 2019–20 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 7,344,040 | 1[45] | 69.13 | 3[46] |
| 2020-21 | 23 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 6,537,153 | 5[47] | 69.773 | 6[48] |
| Career* | 178 | 145 | 14 (1) | 6 | 9 | 61 | 102 | 1 | $44,085,824 | 18[49] |
*As of the 2020–21 season.[4]
U.S. national team appearances
- Amateur
- Junior Ryder Cup: 2010 (winners)
- Eisenhower Trophy: 2012 (winners)
- Palmer Cup: 2012, 2013 (winners)
- Walker Cup: 2013 (winners)
Professional
In popular culture
He appears on the cover of the 2020 video game PGA Tour 2K21.[50]
See also
References
External links
- Official website
- Justin Thomas at the PGA Tour official site
- Justin Thomas at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Alabama Crimson Tide bio