After another disappointing performance at the final major of the season, Justin Thomas entered next month’s Wyndham Championship, the final tournament of the PGA Tour regular season.
The Wyndham will be a chance for Thomas to not only earn FedEx Cup points, but also to prove he belongs on the United States Ryder Cup team.
Thomas, 30, has won two PGA Championships and one Players Championship in his successful career thus far, but he’s struggled throughout 2022-23. He missed the cut at the Masters, the U.S. Open and last week’s Open Championship, shooting a round of 81 at the U.S. Open and an 82 at The Open.
After the disheartening U.S. Open, Thomas added the Rocket Mortgage Classic to his schedule. He went 76-69 and missed the cut, failing to earn any additional FedEx Cup points. 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 is also a longshot to make the Ryder Cup roster unless he turns things around between now and September. As of Monday, Thomas is No. 14 in the American Ryder Cup qualifying standings; the top six will make the team, and captain Zach Johnson will add six captain’s picks.
Thomas has played in each of the past two Ryder Cups, but with three of the automatic spots likely going to major champions Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman and Brooks Koepka, Thomas has to compete with the likes of Max Homa, Jordan Spieth, Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler for captain’s picks.
“I want to make the Ryder Cup more than anything,” Thomas said last Friday. “I’m probably honestly trying too hard to do it. It reminds me a lot of my first or second year on tour.
“I tried so hard to make that team for the first time. I’m in a very similar position. I’ve been trying to make it easy on Zach and get in the top six, but I seem to not want to do that with my golf.”
The Wyndham Championship is scheduled for Aug. 3-6 in Greensboro, N.C. The Ryder Cup will be played Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Rome.
–Field Level Media