Justin Thomas hungry for more in the 2018 PGA TOUR season

Justin Thomas exceeded everybody’s expectations in 2017…except his own. As the winter break lingers, he’s already looking forward to more in 2018.

A lot has happened to Justin Thomas in the last 12 months. He went from a guy who had won once in two seasons to a guy who won five times in a season and captured his first major championship. He went from Justin Who? to PGA Champion, PGA Tour Player of the Year and PGA of America Player of the Year. It was a quantum leap any golfer would love to make.

In two weeks, he will defend his second title from last year at the Sentry Tournament of Champions which is played at Kapalua Resort.

"“I hope that that is my first tournament of the year for the rest of my career,” he said in a remote press conference conducted by the PGA Tour. “I’m excited to get back. It’s been a nice off-season but over the last week or so, I’ve been starting to get a little hungry and ready to get back out there.”"

His tone said he meant it. Like a lot of prolific winners, he seems unready to stop the success train. However, Thomas knows that his biggest challenge this season is not to spend the whole year comparing himself to his previous year.

"“I know I’m constantly going to get reminded of what I did last year versus this year and whether it’s better or whether it’s worse,” he admitted."

Since he won five times in the previous season, and has already managed one victory by repeating, the pressure may technically be off, but his internal clock keeps ticking.

"“I think the hardest part is going to be staying in the moment and recognizing that it’s a new year. It’s a new opportunity for great things, and I just need to continue to work hard,” he added."

He has already made his list of goals, probably not too different from the one he outlined for himself last year. He decided – wisely – not to share it until the end of the season.

"“I shared them my rookie year, and I regretted doing it, so I’ve made a commitment to myself to keep them within my team and myself. I just think it’s better to do it that way,” he explained."

What’s changing for Justin Thomas, and what’s not?

In the past, he has said he is a traditionalist when it comes to equipment. Intelligently, he hasn’t changed his after what could be a career best season. The PGA Tour rolls are filled with golfers who chased equipment money and lost their ability to shoot winning scores. Better to stay with what got him to the top.

He won the PGA Championship with a Titliest 917 D2 driver with a 9.5 degree loft and a Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana BF-Series 60 TX shaft. Last season he used Titliest 718 MB prototype clubs for his 6-9-irons and a 716CB 4-iron. His wedges are Vokey, and his putter is a Scotty Cameron. The ball is the Pro V1x. You can see the entire bag he used at the PGA Championship here.

Despite his success in the last 15 months, a jump that has elevated him to be one of golf’s elite players, he is still working on facets of his game that he hopes will create even more victories in the future.

He’s working out in the same gym as Dustin Johnson. They have banners on the wall for victories by each player who is affiliated with the facility.

"“I remember last year, DJ had about 12 up there and I’m looking up at the wall and I have nothing, and I’m like, ‘This sucks, I’ve got to get something up there,’ ” he said. “It’s funny, and honestly childish as it is, it’s kind of motivating. You go in there and you see DJ No. 1 in the world and winning all these tournaments, and I’m like, man, I kind of want to be doing that.”"

He said he’s added 15 to 20 pounds this year, but you could never tell since he has always been slender. But, working out off the course is not the only strategy he employed.

Thomas is focused on becoming a truly well-rounded player

“I look at stats a lot,” said. “It’s an easy way to tell, an easy way to know what you’re good at or what you need to improve on.”

He was pleased with his driving distance, but he wants to hit more fairways.

“That’s something I’ve really been working hard on, and I think I did a great job the last third of the season and I feel like that’s why I played as well as I did. I’m going to continue to work on that,” he added.

However, one of his putting stats got his attention.

“Inside-ten-feet putting is something I really want to get better at this year,” he noted. “I wanted to get better at outside ten least last year and I did, but because of that my inside-ten-feet struggled. That means I just have to put in a little bit more work.”

And now the big question: what were the best places he took the PGA Championship trophy?

“I took it down to Bakers Bay for a family vacation, that was pretty fun, and got to drink out of it with the family,” he said about the trip. “It made for a nice centerpiece at the dinner table, that’s for sure.”

The coolest, he said, was the Alabama LSU game.

"“I had no idea why, and I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but just how welcoming and how loved everybody there makes me feel. It’s something I really can’t put into words,” he said. “It’s fun to share because I have a lot of fans and a lot of friends and a lot of people and people that have been great to me in Tuscaloosa. To be able to share it with them is probably the coolest experience I’ve had with it.”"

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As far as the viewing schedule for the trophy, it has not yet made it to his dad’s golf shop in Kentucky, but there’s a chance that will happen before he has to return it next August. Of course, if he repeats as PGA Champion, he gets to hang on to it for another year.