2021 BMW Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Caves Valley

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Aug 23, 2021; Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; Justin Thomas hits his tee shot on the 4th hole during the final round of The Northern Trust golf tournament at the Liberty National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /

Justin Thomas tends to play some of his best golf in the FedEx Cup Playoffs. He got himself into the penultimate group Monday at The Northern Trust and remained in the top six with a T-4th finish.

JT spun his wheels a bit with a closing 70. An opening 63 gave him the 18-hole co-lead, and two more rounds in the 60s make the case that he’s headed in the right direction.

Thomas’ usually solid ball striking continued as he was 14th in SG tee to green (5.295). He was 11th in the field in strokes gained, putting (4.499) total. That’s encouraging to see out of his weakness this season.

Clean up some poor shots around the greens, and he would have been right there to join Cameron Smith and Tony Finau in the playoff.

Thomas has been waiting to erupt. He just notched his eighth straight top-50 but has only cracked the top-10 twice.

Fortunately, he can look back to his Players Championship romp in March to last remember what it takes to beat an elite field.

Thomas is a two-time winner in the FedEx Cup Playoffs and was the 2017 FedEx Cup champion. All that’s again in reach and could help salvage a season partially marred by disappointments at the majors.

The 28-year-old former world No. 1 should be a lock for the American Ryder Cup team and won’t have to worry about earning enough points this week to qualify for the Tour Championship.

Combine that with the fact that nearly the entire field sees Caves Valley for the first time, and I like JT’s pure talent to make a difference this week.

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