After another disappointing performance in the major final of the season, Justin Thomas entered next month’s Windham Championship, the final tournament of the PGA Tour regular season.
The Wyndham would be an opportunity for Thomas to not only earn FedEx Cup points, but also prove he belongs on the US team in the Ryder Cup.
Thomas, 30, has won two PGA Championships and one Players Championship in his career so far, but has struggled throughout 2022 and 23. He missed the cut at the Masters, the US Open and last week’s Open, shooting a round of 81 at the US Open and 82 at The Open.
After the disappointing US Open, Thomas added the Rocket Mortgage Classic to his schedule. He went 76-69 and missed the cut, failing to earn any extra points in the FedEx Cup. Thomas is No. 75 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the Top 70 will qualify for the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Thomas too was a long way from being on the Ryder Cup roster unless he turned things around between now and September. As of Monday, Thomas is No. 14 in the America’s Ryder Cup qualifier standings. The top six will make the team, and captain Zack Johnson will add six captain picks.
Thomas has played in each of the past two Ryder Cups, but with three of the automatic spots likely to go to main champions Windham Clarke, Brian Harman and Brooks Koepka, Thomas has to compete with the likes of Max Homma, Jordan Spieth, Keegan Bradley, Colin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler for a captain’s pick.
“I want to make the Ryder Cup more than anything else,” Thomas said on Friday. “Maybe I’m honestly trying to do it. It reminds me a lot of my first or second year on the Tour.
“I tried really hard to make this team for the first time. I’m in a very similar situation. I’ve been trying to make it easier for Zach and get into the top six, but I don’t seem to want to do that with my golf.”
The Windham Championship is scheduled to be held August 3-6 in Greensboro, NC, and the Ryder Cup will be held September 29-October 29. 1 in Rome.