Justin Thomas ties single-round record at The Players with unbelievable Day 2 turnaround
Justin Thomas ties single-round record at The Players with unbelievable Day 2 turnaround
After a rough outing on Day 1 at The Players from TPC Sawgrass in which he shot a 78, Justin Thomas bounced back with a vengeance on Day 2.
Thomas thrust himself into tournament contention with an unreal turnaround on Friday, and he matched The Players' single-round record in the process with a 10-under 62 in Round 2. The record was first set by Tom Hoge in 2023.
With Thomas sitting at 4-under overall through two rounds and in a tie for 30th place, he has some work to do if he's going to capture his second title at The Players (he previously won in 2021). However, he rose 104 spots on the leaderboard by the end of his round, in which he turned in 11 birdies.
Thomas birdied the iconic Island Green on No. 17 to beat Hoge's record, but after hitting it in the water on No. 18, he became the 57th golfer so far this weekend to bogey the challenging Par 5. That was Thomas' only bogey of the round.
Thomas needs to follow it up with strong outings on Saturday and Sunday if he's going to have a shot at winning, but after starting the day six strokes behind the projected cut line, Thomas is very much back in after tying the record.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
How good has Nets' Cam Thomas been in his last two NBA seasons?
How good has Nets' Cam Thomas been in his last two NBA seasons? Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is heading into his first stint in free-agency after being in the NBA for the past four seasons and learning how the next level works. Thomas first saw a consistent role for Brooklyn during the 2023-24 campaign when the team needed someone to pick up the scoring load next to Mikal Bridges, but how good has Thomas been over the last two seasons? Per Statmuse, Thomas is 25th in the league in points per game (22.9) over the past two seasons, putting him behind the likes of Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan, and New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns. When it comes to metrics like minutes per game, rebounds per game, and assists per game, Thomas ranks towards the bottom of the list of the 25 best scorers on the list over the past two years. Some of the players towards the top of the list are household names like Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, just to name a few. The point is, Thomas' scoring output puts him in the company over some of the best players in the league and that is something the Nets should keep in mind moving forward. One of the main drawbacks to Thomas' game is the efficiency as he ranks towards the bottom of the top-25 in stats like field-goal percentage (44.1) and true-shooting percentage (56.0), which considers all of his shooting percentages and tries to wrap it up in one number. While Thomas' field-goal percentage is towards the bottom of the list, his three-point percentage (35.9) and free-throw percentage (86.4) are at least middle-of-the-pack, if not better. What this means is that Thomas will be heading into free-agency after having the best season of his young career while still being 23-years-old. With that being said, Thomas is also coming off a campaign in which he played in just 25 games so teams like Brooklyn will have to consider if Thomas can handle more of a workload that allows him to show his entire skillset. Either way, Thomas has been playing some good basketball over the past two seasons.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Justin Thomas unravels at US Open with four-putt nightmare
An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Justin Thomas, Image 2 shows Justin Thomas last won a major in 2022 Oakmont claimed another victim Friday at the U.S. Open. Looking to bounce back from a 6-over 76 in Thursday's opening round, Justin Thomas' quest for a comeback took a hit on the par-5 12th hole at the Pittsburgh-area course, where a birdie opportunity from 26 feet turned into a crushing double bogey on the slick greens. Advertisement On Thomas' first attempt to tap it in for par, he played too much break and the ball lipped out on the right side of the hole. When he lined up again, he missed to the left. Oakmont has not been kind to Justin Thomas at the 2025 U.S. Open. Getty Images Thomas, 32, eventually sank his putt to put him at 9-over. The front nine didn't get much better for the two-time PGA Championship winner, who had three bogeys and two double bogeys en route to a 41. He added a birdie on the par-4 14th. Thomas, whose last major championship win was in 2022, shot even par over his final nine holes but it was not enough to salvage a frustrating two days as he finished 12-over and will miss the cut. Justin Thomas shot a double bogey during the second round of the U.S. Open on the par-5 12th hole. X It put him at 9-over as the second round began. X Leading up to this year's tournament, Thomas preached patience when tackling Oakmont. Advertisement 'It requires just patience and discipline… if you just get lazy, like on any drive, any wedge shot, any chip, any putt, you can kind of look stupid pretty fast, especially at a place like this,' he said. Thomas' best U.S. Open finish was a tie for eighth in 2020 at Winged Foot in New York. Justin Thomas last won a major in 2022. Getty Images He shot a 6-over 76 to open the first round. Getty Images Oakmont hasn't been kind to the sport's brightest stars this week. Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau started his opening round Thursday by nearly committing a rules blunder while rival Rory McIlroy shot 4-over 74 and ducked the media afterward. A microphone was a casualty in Shane Lowry's dreadful opener of 9-over 79. Advertisement J.J. Spaun, in the hunt for his first-ever major, shot a bogey-free 4-under 66 to claim the top spot on the leaderboard. He tees off for his second round shortly before 1 p.m. Friday.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Journeyman leads as many of golf's best struggle in first round of US Open
OAKMONT, Pa. — Raise your hand if you predicted that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, winner of three of his last four starts, including the PGA and Memorial, would make six bogeys and shoot 3-over par in the opening round of the U.S. Open on Thursday at Oakmont. Raise it again if you figured Rory McIlroy, fresh off his Masters victory to complete the career Grand Slam, for a 4-over 76 after shooting 41 on his back nine. Advertisement Raise it again if you thought defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who's seemingly found the answer at major championships, would struggle to a 3-over 73. And again if you predicted a 9-over 79 for Shane Lowry, who not only entered the week in good form but finished runner-up at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. And yet again if you saw Dustin Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open winner at Oakmont, for a 5-over 75. Surely, you picked J.J. Spaun, whose best finish in the eight major championships he's played was a tie for 23rd three years ago at the PGA, to be the first-round leader he is after shooting a 4-under 66. Advertisement Right? All kidding aside, don't sleep on the 34-year-old, late-bloomer Spaun, who's having the year of his career, having finished runner-up to McIlroy at The Players and raising his ranking and profile in the process. Spaun leads South African Thriston Lawrence (3-under 67) by one shot and two-time U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka, Si Woo Kim and Sungjae Im (2-under 68) by two shots. Scottie Scheffler, hitting out of the bunker, shot a 3-over 73 in the first round of the U.S. Open on June 12, 2025. Getty Images Behind them are five players at 1-under, including former U.S. Open winner Jon Rahm and Ben Griffin. Sure, Oakmont didn't produce a stacked, star-studded leaderboard at the top through 18 holes, but then, we're only 18 holes in. Long way to go. Advertisement And, it should be noted that some superstars lurk at even par, including major winners Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott. As for Spaun, he found his game (and guile) at The Players Championship in March — even in losing to McIlroy in a playoff. Rory McIlroy, wearing a disappointed expression on the 11th green, shot a 4-over 74 in the first round of the U.S. Open. Getty Images 'I don't know why this is happening at this point in my career, but I guess being kind of put in that spot at The Players, I was leading going into the final round of the Sony Open, I finished second at Cognizant … I've been consistently right there,'' Spaun said. 'The Players was sort of a spring into the self-belief because it wasn't like I faked it. You can maybe fake it at the Sony and Cognizant or whatever, but you can't do that at The Players, a course where I'd never done well historically. Advertisement 'And to go head-to-head with Rory on Sunday and then the playoff was great for my confidence. Unfortunately, I didn't win, but it was great for me to lean back on that experience and know that I can perform on the biggest of stages and handle the pressure.'' Spaun pointed to The Players as the line of demarcation for his performance and confidence surge. 'I used to be kind of scared to want the ball or have the lead or be the one that everyone is chasing,'' he said. 'I always was comfortable kind of being a chaser than the one being chased.'' J.J. Spaun, hitting a shot into the 16th green, shot a 4-under 66 to grab the first-round lead at the U.S. Open. Getty Images He referenced 'a really rough Sunday at Memphis like three years ago that kind of gave me some scar tissue.'' Advertisement 'I was like, 'You need to embrace this, stop being scared,' '' he said. 'That's what all the great players want.'' If Spaun is going to carry this through the finish line, at least 54 holes from now, he's going to have to overcome some great players. He's trying to duplicate his 'mantra'' at The Players, saying, 'I'm trying to feel like I have nothing to lose. That's the way I felt at The Players, so I'm going to roll with that again this week. And hopefully it'll turn out more in my favor.'' Jordan Spieth, playing a shot on the seventh tee, shot even-par in the first round of the U.S. Open. Getty Images If there's a textbook U.S. Open round to be played, Spaun executed it to perfection. Of the 156 players in the field, he was the only one to submit a clean scorecard. Advertisement For proper context on how difficult Oakmont has been and still is, Spaun's round was only the eighth bogey-free round ever in a U.S. Open at Oakmont — and this is the 10th of those. The last player to play a round bogey-free at a U.S. Open at Oakmont? Bryson DeChambeau, looking down after missing a putt on the 16th hole, shot 3-over 73 in the first round of the U.S. Open. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Johnson in the first round in 2016 before he went on to win it. A good omen. 'All you've been hearing is how hard this place is,'' Spaun said. 'It's hard to not hear the noise and see what's on social media. So, I was actually pretty nervous. But I actually tried to harness that, the nerves, the anxiety, because it kind of heightens my focus, makes me swing better. 'I came out here with no prior history at Oakmont, not really knowing what to expect even U.S. Open-wise.'' Sometimes, what you don't know won't hurt you.
