Zozo Championship: Justin Thomas fires 29 on back nine Thursday
By Tim Letcher
After an even-par round of 36 on his front nine on Thursday at the Zozo Championship, Justin Thomas caught fire on the back nine.
Justin Thomas did not appear to have anything special going on during his Thursday round at the Zozo Championship. Then, it suddenly turned, in a very positive way, for the former world number one.
Thomas was steady early in his round. He hit three of the first four greens in regulation and had two-putt pars on those three holes. On the one hole where he missed the green, the par-3 third hole, he was able to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker.
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He did get under par on the par-5 fifth hole by hitting the green in two, then two putting for his birdie. He followed that with another birdie, this one on the par-4 sixth hole, to get to 2-under par.
Thomas was unable to maintain the momentum, however. On the par-4 seventh hole, Thomas hit another green in regulation. But he would three putt for his first bogey of the round.
On the par-3 eighth hole, Thomas found the greenside bunker off the tee and was unable to get up-and-down. That marked two straight bogeys after two straight birdies, leaving Thomas at even par. That’s where he would finish his front nine.
Then, the light switch came on for Thomas, and in a big way.
He started his back nine by sticking his approach shot on the 10th hole about three feet from the hole. He ran in the birdie to get back into red figures.
On the par-5 11th hole, Thomas hit the green in two. His putt from 47 feet just missed and he tapped in for a birdie to get to 2-under on his round.
After pars on the 12th and 13th holes, Thomas drilled a birdie putt from 22 feet on the 14th hole to get to 3-under on the day. He would follow that with a par on the 15th hole.
On the 16th hole, a par five, Thomas not only reached the green in two, he was within nine feet for eagle. He made the putt to get to 5-under on the day.
Thomas carried the momentum over to the 17th hole, where his tee shot on the par three landed 10 feet from the hole. He made the putt to get to 6-under on his round.
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And on 18, Thomas hit his approach shot to about 20 feet. Staying hot, he rolled in another putt to finish with a 7-under par round of 65, including a 29 on his back nine.
Thomas finds himself one shot behind 18-hole leader Sebastian Munoz after one round. But if he can carry the momentum from Thursday’s round into Friday, he could easily find himself atop the leaderboard.