Waste Management Phoenix Open: Power ranking the top 10
While he’s yet to pick up a top-10 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in four starts, I’m not about to exclude Justin Thomas from my own top 10.
That’s partially because JT is the highest-ranked player in the world in this week’s field, coming in at No. 4. The 25-year-old is already a nine-time PGA Tour winner with his latest coming late last summer at the WGC-Bridgestone. For him, that seems like a long time.
He’s come close since his triumph in July with five top-10s, one being a T3 at the Tournament of Champions earlier this month. He followed it up with a T16 at the Sony Open and should now be well rested with two weeks off coming into the WMPO.
Thomas debuted at TPC Scottsdale with a T17 in 2015, missed a pair of cuts and rebounded last year for another T17.
He doesn’t feel too perplexed by the course; he just knows he has to simply play better to win at a venue that should suit him well.
“Just execution. It’s all right in front of you, it’s not like there’s any tricks,” Thomas said during the 2018 event. “It’s not, nothing’s hidden, there’s really not a whole lot of risk/reward, it’s just all right in front of you. It’s just really a matter of hitting the golf shots and making the putts.”
The driver cost him last year as he hit just 44.64 percent of fairways. He still managed to shoot 68-68-71-66 thanks to being among the leaders in driving distance (324.4 yards), hitting 69.44 percent of his greens in regulation and having a decent putting week.
JT ranks first this season in strokes gained approach and is ninth in birdie average. He’s also seventh on Tour on Bermuda since 2014.