Justin Thomas entered the PGA Championship with a frustrating major record since his 2022 win—only one top-30 finish in 15 majors and seven missed cuts—yet opened with back-to-back 1-under 69s at Aronimink. After Friday’s round, he credited comfort, staying pr
NEWTON SQUARE, Pa. — Justin Thomas has won this stage before. He took the PGA Championship in 2017 at Quail Hollow and again in 2022 at Southern Hills, and he’s inside the top 10 at Aronimink’s halfway mark.
Still, the bigger story has been the contradiction in his major résumé since that last win.. In the 15 majors that followed his 2022 triumph, Thomas has managed exactly one finish inside the top 30.. He has also missed seven cuts during that span—an outcome that doesn’t match the reputation of a 16-time PGA Tour winner.
When the Open Championship ended last year, Thomas pointed to the task in front of him in a straightforward way: “Just got to get back to work and try to get better,” he said. He finished T34 at Royal Liverpool.
Now, at the PGA Championship, he has started with a sequence that looks built on control rather than urgency.. Thomas began the week with back-to-back rounds of one-under 69.. After Friday’s round. he said “A lot of satisfaction for sure. ” and added that what mattered most was how he reached his scores.
“I felt like — I was very comfortable getting there. I think that’s what I’m probably more proud of or happy about than the scores itself was I didn’t put any extra pressure on myself these first couple days. I didn’t feel like I made this moment bigger than it was.”
He kept that mindset even after setbacks.. On Friday, he made two bogeys in his first three holes.. Rather than chase those moments. Thomas framed the week as something simpler: “It’s just. I really have felt like I’m doing a lot of things well and swinging well and playing well and been putting it well.. So, just go out and play,” he said.. “It sounds so easy when you say it. but it’s one of the hardest things to do in this sport. in my opinion.”
By the end of the day. his confidence wasn’t only about avoiding mistakes—it was also about repeating the approach.. “So I’m very. very pleased and proud of myself for doing that these first couple days and. yeah. just kind of playing what the course gives me.. So just try to do more of that this weekend.”
The swing through Thomas’ recent major record to his current PGA start is stark: after one top-30 finish in 15 majors and seven missed cuts since 2022, he opened this championship with back-to-back one-under 69s while stressing comfort and a refusal to add pressure early.
For now, the numbers at Aronimink are giving the riddle a new shape—one Thomas seems determined to keep intact as he moves through the weekend.
Justin Thomas PGA Championship Aronimink Quail Hollow Southern Hills major slump one-under 69 golf