CHARLOTTE — It makes sense that Justin Thomas arrived at Quail Hollow with loads of confidence for this week’s PGA Championship.
He acknowledged Tuesday that he might have lots of company in that category.
“I’d say it’s a little different than other majors considering it’s a venue and a course that we play yearly, for the Wells Fargo and now the Truist,” Thomas said. “I would say it’s a course that a lot of us have had a lot of rounds on.”
But Thomas is unique in that he already has won a major on this layout. He won his first major on this course in 2017 and added a second PGA Championship five years later at Southern Hills.
So having Quail Hollow hosting this year’s championship only has heightened the expectations for Thomas, who has been a repeat winner at other locations on the tour.
“I’ve hit the shots. I’ve made the putts,” he said. “I’ve handled all of that mentally on this exact golf course in this exact tournament.”
Thomas had a winning score of 8-under 276 here in 2017, when the tournament was a mid-August event.
“It was eight years ago,” he said. “It was a completely different golf course. It was Bermuda in August versus overseed in May. As much as I’d like to say yes (that it carries over), I think that’s a bit of a stretch. But the fact that I know the golf course and have had, I feel like, some success on it is definitely helpful.”
While there have been course changes, he said there are familiar aspects that he enjoys about coming back to Quail Hollow.
“By the looks of it, it’s pristine as always, and it will be a great test,” he said.
That first PGA Championship marked the fifth of Thomas’ 16 victories on the PGA Tour. In many ways, it served as an introduction.
“I was very fortunate to have success at a young age,” he said. “But when you’re 23, 24 years old, it’s just like you don’t have anything else to think about or to have to worry about. You don’t have any scar tissue. …
“Earlier in your career, it’s different — it’s a similar mindset in that obviously we want to win and have a lot of fire and we work hard, but it’s a different kind of thing.”
Thomas, 32, has contended in three of his past four tournaments, winning last month at the RBC Heritage to go with a pair of runner-up finishes at the Valspar Championship and last weekend’s Truist Championship.
In many ways, he’s far more accomplished than the 24-year-old who marched toward the 18th green hearing the roars of the crowd in 2017.
“I feel great about my game,” he said. “I would like to think and hope I’m a more mature person and golfer.”
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
