"His game just isn’t suited for Open" - Justin Thomas' disappointing round 1 at the Open Championship didn’t sit well with fans
Justin Thomas had one of the worst days on the golf course as he finished the first day of the 151st Open at T153 after shooting 11-over-82. Thursday's round marked Thomas' poorest performance in the major championships.
Right from the start, Thomas never looked comfortable at the Royal Liverpool. He began with a bogey and briefly reached even par after a birdie on the fifth, but everything went downhill from there.
Thomas made two bogeys and a double bogey over the next four holes. The back nine was even more challenging, as he went 7-over after completing 14 holes. However, the worst was yet to come.
On the final hole of the day, Thomas' tee shot went out of bounds, resulting in a penalty. His fourth stroke landed in a greenside bunker, and that's where the nightmare started. While attempting to play sideways on the green, he ended up in another neighboring bunker.
The two-time major winner played the sixth shot backward, but that also went into some rough terrain. Eventually, he found the green on the seventh shot. Now, when he was looking to finish the day with a triple bogey, the ball just stopped inches before the hole, and hence he ended the exhausting day with a quadruple bogey.
The 30-year-old golfer looked visibly defeated with his body language as he looked up at the sky while walking off the Royal Liverpool. His performance left fans feeling disappointed, yet most were sympathetic towards him. Few fans were of the opinion that, in his current form, Justin Thomas didn't deserve the Ryder Cup spot.
Here's how fans reacted on social media:
"His game just isn’t suited for Open golf"
"maybe he can become a head teacher at Top Golf"
"He looked so defeated 😢"
"He was ready to get out of there as quick as possible"
"That’s golf I’m afraid."
"Never nice to see good golfers in a slump ( except Phil ), hoping he can bounce back"
"If JT makes the Ryder cup team over a liv guy that’s going to be a bad look for the US team"
"Unless he was a great run in the Playoffs JT should absolutely not be on the Ryder Cup team, he’s had a tough year"
"He gave away the Ryder Cup pick to Talor Gooch. Not the 1st time he shot in the 80's either. Something is ailing him. Maybe ever since TW's tampoon gate"
"I hope after tomorrow, that he takes a break.. he is fantastic and will be back"
How has Justin Thomas performed recently on the PGA Tour?
Justin Thomas' struggles didn't start with the Open Championship. In fact, he has been going through a poor patch on the PGA Tour for quite some time. He has had just one top-10 finish since the Valspar Championship. Although it was the Travelers Championship a few weeks ago where he finished T9, he again ended up at T60 at the Scottish Open.
In the last five events, Justin Thomas has missed three cuts. Since 2016, he has never finished outside of the top seven in the FedEx Cup standings. However, this time, he is 75th in the standings with just two events left after the 151st Open.