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Masters Debutantes – 8 Rookies Who Made the Cut

By Elizabeth Bethel

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 08: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 8, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 06: Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the Par 3 Contest prior to the start of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /

Round 1 – 76   Round 2 – 73   Leaderboard Status – T47

How important is your caddie? Just ask Justin Thomas. His game took a dramatic turn for the better last year when he got together with Steve Stricker’s caddie, Jimmie Johnson. Stricker, who’s recovering from back surgery and playing a reduced schedule, gave Johnson the green light to try it out with Thomas.

The relationship clicked. Thomas finished at the John Deere Classic in a tie for 5th place, then followed up with a 4th place finish at the Quicken Loans National and notched three more top-20 finishes in his next five starts.

Then came Malaysia and the CIMB Classic. Thomas was looking good on Sunday. Then he found the water on 14. That could have been the end of it, but it wasn’t. Johnson reminded Thomas that he still had four holes to play and got him settled down and focused. Thomas delivered 3 consecutive birdies and then coaxed a long par putt on the final hole to take the win away from Adam Scott and punch his ticket to the Masters.

Now they’re at it again and Justin Thomas is playing his game. He made the cut on the number, but that’s more than past Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Charl Schwartzl can say.

I’m struck by the consistency in Thomas’s play and by his improvement from his 1st to his 2nd round. Despite the difficult conditions, there is no back nine meltdown on Justin Thomas’s card. Despite the greens that were as slick as a monkey’s butt, there are no triple bogeys. Thomas is a man I can see making a move in the right direction on moving day.

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Justin Thomas, 1st & 2nd round scorecards, 2016 Masters Tournament /

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