HOYLAKE, England — Justin Thomas may be struggling with his game, but it hasn’t scared U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson from wanting him on his 12-man team to represent the Stars and Stripes in Rome in late September. Johnson called him “one of the best there is,” among American Ryder Cup players.
“As a friend and roommate, I’m concerned just because he’s my buddy and I know what he’s capable of and that sort of thing,” Johnson said on Friday after his second round at the British Open at Royal Liverpool. “I might be slightly concerned, like I said, as a friend, but I’m not worried about him because I know what he does and I know what he’s capable of.”
Thomas, 30, is mired in the worst slump of his career. He is winless since last year’s PGA Championship and is in danger of failing to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs after missing the cut at the British Open. Thomas shot an opening-round 11-over 82, tying his worst score of his PGA Tour career, and signed for 71 on Friday.
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“Making two doubles and a quad, that’s eight year old, nine-year old kind of stuff, not someone who’s trying to win a British Open. You just can’t do stuff like that,” he said. “But I’ll be good.”
That followed an 81 in the second round of the U.S. Open last month, and marks the third of four majors this year that Thomas had the weekend off. Thomas likely will need to play the 3M Open next week and depending on his performance, the Wyndham Championship, which is the final FedEx Cup regular-season event – only the top 70 qualify for the playoffs and he entered the week No. 75.
“I want to make the Ryder Cup more than anything,” Thomas said. “I’m probably honestly trying too hard to do it. It reminds me a lot of my first or second year on Tour. I’ve tried so hard to make that team for the first time. I’m in a very similar position. I’ve been trying to make it easy on Zach and get in the top six, but I seem to not want to do that with my golf. Have a couple events left to try to get in the playoffs and then make a little bit of a run and try to prove a point.”
Nevertheless, Johnson remained resolute that Thomas, who has been a stalwart on the last two Ryder Cup teams and a deadly combo with Jordan Spieth, would be on the team regardless of his recent form. Thomas is 6-2-1 in his two Ryder Cups, the best record of any American golfer to play in at least two, and a combined 6-0-0 in four-ball at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
“Bottom line is this game is really hard. There’s going to be peaks. There’s going to be some valleys. Let’s hope whatever sort of non-peak he’s in, it’s short,” Johnson said. “I know he’s got a great team. I love his coaches. I love how he works. He’s a worker. Guys with talent like that that work and aren’t afraid to put their work in the dirt, if you will, not to be cliche, typically find it. It’s just a matter of when, not if. He’s too darned good.”
Johnson and Thomas were sharing a house this week and Johnson saw him ever-so-briefly.
“He was walking, had his head high,” Johnson said. “The kid doesn’t quit…(The Ryder Cup) fuels him. You can tell he wants to be there.”
Johnson has had enough highs and lows during his career that he can relate to what Thomas is going through.
“It stinks, because you’re working and you’re not seeing the fruits of your labour, so to speak. But you’ve got to keep the perspective,” Johnson said. “It’s almost like you’ve got to take two or three steps forward, then you might take a couple steps back, and after that it’s like you’re on an escalator… Yeah, I think it’s a brutal animal, man, and you can’t tame it sometimes, and other times it just feels like it’s sitting right in your lap.”
Asked what he will do to convince Johnson to pick him if he doesn’t make the team, Thomas said, “It’s not like I’m going to write him a love letter or anything. I mean, yeah, I would like to think that my record is my best argument. I love the team events. I thrive in them. I just enjoy it. Playing with a partner could kind of ease me a little bit, relax me.
“Yeah, like I said, I don’t want to put him in this position. I hate even having to hope for a pick. This is the first time since I first qualified that I’ve had to rely on a captain’s pick, and it’s not fun, especially when you’re trending the wrong way when other people are trending toward it.”
