Justin Thomas knows he is better than 7th best player in the world

It’s been a little while since Justin Thomas’ last win on Tour, which came at the Players Championship last March. Not a bad tournament to win if you aren’t going to win more than a couple each year, I’m sure there are plenty of PGA professionals that would snap your hand off if offered the chance to win the Players, golf’s “unofficial 5th major”, and one of the biggest events all year.

” I’m not happy at all that I’m 7th. I feel like I’m way better than that.”   – Justin Thomas

A player like Justin Thomas is in a different class though, and he knows it. He is currently the 7th ranked player in the world, but it’s tough at the top with seemingly everyone grappling for the top spot. That spot currently belongs to Jon Rahm who has held that number one ranking since the Open Championship last July.

” I’m not happy at all that I’m 7th. I feel like I’m way better than that ” he said after his first round at this week’s WM Phoenix Open. Justin is the second player this week in Scottsdale to express discontent with their current world status after Brooks Koepka earlier described his ranking of 20th as “embarrassing”. 

The thing about the world’s elite is that they are all good and these rankings at the top of the pecking order can fluctuate from one week to the next, this was something that Thomas reiterated during his post-round interview when comparing it to how it was a couple of year’s ago. “But at the same time that 2, 3, through 8 feels like me, D.J. and Rosie a couple years ago with No. 1. It was like literally every week could change and fluctuate quite a bit,” he added.

Not including Rahm, there are currently five players that sit above Thomas in the rankings, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, and Rory McIlroy. All of these players with the exception of Dustin Johnson won at least twice in 2021.

It would appear as though claiming a spot in the upper echelon of the world rankings requires a minimum of two wins per year. It’s not like the Players Champion has been that far off either, four different times he finished 5th or better in an event, and that number extends to five times if you count the 5th place finish he recorded at the Sentry Tournament Of Champions to begin 2022.

“I’m trying to not worry about it, I know that if I go out and play good golf and at least play to the caliber that I know that I can, then I’ll be back where I feel like I know I should be,” Thomas said.

He will be hoping that starts this week at the Phoenix Open after opening with a four-under-par, 67.  JT currently leads the field in strokes gained approach after gaining nearly four strokes on Thursday. Overall he was pleased with his start this week but felt like he put his “worst round” behind him in round one, such are his lofty expectations of himself.

Thomas also loves the atmosphere in Phoenix, he loves playing off the crowds and using that adrenaline as an added boost. He went 2-1-1 at the 2021 Ryder Cup and on Thursday he produced a birdie on the famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale in front of the raucous fans.

“you definitely have to embrace it,” he said, this coming after being booed when he stuck his approach shot to within five feet of the hole.

Thomas may not be pleased with his current status amongst the world’s best, but the fact of the matter is he is going to have to convert some of these top 5 finishes into wins if he wants to climb the rankings. He knows there is work to still be done, and he remains confident in his ability to succeed. A win this week at the Phoenix Open would certainly be a good place to start.