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2021 Open Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Royal St. George’s

By Mike Randleman

CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 19: Detail View of Claret Jug Open signage during the first round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 19, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND - JULY 19: Detail View of Claret Jug Open signage during the first round of the 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club on July 19, 2018 in Carnoustie, Scotland. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Jun 20, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Justin Thomas waves to the crowd after putting on the first green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 20, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Justin Thomas waves to the crowd after putting on the first green during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports /

Justin Thomas was two shots away for tying for low American at last week’s Scottish Open. Against a talented field looking to gird themselves for Royal St. George’s, JT fired bookending 65s at The Renaissance Club to earn T-8th.

That was Thomas’ fourth made stroke play cut in a row and eighth out of the last nine. That stretch began with a win at the Players Championship, which boasted a stronger field than this week’s.

Thomas is making his 24th career start in a major, fifth at the Open Championship and first at Royal St. George’s. The former Alabama Crimson Tide is 2-for-4 making the cut across the pond with his best showing T-11th in 2019.

This has been the 2017 PGA Champion’s worst of the four majors. That’s typical for younger players, particularly Americans and/or PGA Tour players. It’s just a different brand of golf, but Thomas acknowledged in a 2019 ASAP Sports press conference transcription that he is soaking up as much as he can to succeed in this environment.

“I just think that understanding the situation and the weather that I’m playing in and the situation kind of thing and kind of reassessing where I’m at versus just in the States I’m going to hit a driver off this hole no matter what,” Thomas said. “It’s just a matter of if I’m going to go up the left side of the fairway or if the wind is off the right then I’m going to the right side of the fairway. Here it’s a different golf course and different hole. You just have to take it differently.”

Thomas will be eager to turn around a disappointing major season by his standards. A T-21st at Augusta and T-19th at Torrey Pines aren’t that bewildering, but a missed cut at Kiawah Island and not contending in any of the three is surprising.

He did have two top-10s in the majors in 2020 and has made six of his last seven cuts in these events.

The 28-year-old Kentuckian ranks fifth on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach (.853). He’s also T-44th in driving distance, though not much separates anybody in that top 50. If the course plays longer and softer than expected due to early week rain, that will only help a bomber like JT.

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