Justin Thomas wanted a season like Scottie Scheffler. He came close to starting his winning streak at the Copperhead Course but Viktor Hovland took the bragging rights stunningly. Justin Thomas led the Valspar Championship with three holes remaining, but bogeys on 16 and 18 pushed him behind. Hovland ended up carding 4 under par to claim a 1-stroke victory. Notably, this marks Hovland’s first win since the 2023 TOUR Championship and would have been JT’s first since the 2022 PGA Championship. Losing stings, sure but it’s the positive outlook after a close call that sets you apart, and Thomas seems to know this.

Speaking to the press after winning $948,300, Thomas maintained a very optimistic attitude. “I’ll take a lot of good. Way, way more good than bad. I mean, today was awesome. I felt so comfortable. I really the only — I felt like the only nervy swing I truly felt was the wedge on 16. That was the only one I felt was it was just, I was uncomfortable a little bit and kind of in the moment. But I rebounded really well with a nice bunker shot and a nice putt. One of my best swings of the day with a 5-iron on 17, and somehow that putt didn’t go in on 17 as well,” Thomas said, explaining his mindset.

This close finish means a lot to Thomas. Just last week, at PLAYERS, in the opening round, he shot the worst round of his career, 6 over 78, but he jumped back beautifully on second day, improving by 16 strokes, and landing at 10-under 62. “The score sucked,” he said of his opening-round at TPC Sawgrass. “It was absolutely terrible in every way, shape, or form. But it was a fluke.”  But it was his wife who helped me maintain positive mindset, coming in on Friday. He clearly carried that to Valspar as well.

Now, Thomas will upcoming Masters and use the current momentum he has to good effect at the Augusta National Golf Course. It will be a tougher task against a stronger field but Thomas is highly optimistic. “So I’m very, very proud of myself. It sucks not winning when you’re that close and have a great chance, but I just hopefully put myself in the same position in two weeks at Augusta and finish it off better,” added Thomas.

This year will mark JT’s 10th appearance at Augusta. His best finish is T4, which he earned in 2020. Last year, he painfully missed the cut after he shot 7 over par. Even after that, he remained optomistic, saying, “It’s just trusting in yourself and just believe that, you know, things will fall into place and things will happen.” Anyways, Thomas is proud of his game at the moment; he has been saying this.

His Instagram caption, sharing he’s gutted for his rceent loss reiterates this; “There’s nothing better than battling for a win. Naturally, I am gutted about the finish, but I’m proud of the golf I played this weekend to be there. Onward and upward.” Even after his 36th spot at the API, he was optimistic. He shared on his Instagram account that he has “lots of good and positives to take away,” from there.

However, despite a second-placed finish, golfing fans were not at all happy with Thomas’s performance as they believed that the University of Alabama grad could have won the event. They gave him a reality check, and tried to bring his hopes down for Augusta.

Fans criticize Justin Thomas’s choke job

Justin Thomas’s two bogeys on holes 16 and 18 not only pushed the momentum away from him, but also allowed Hovland to claw back in. The Norwegian recorded back-to-back birdies to inherit the solo lead. Some, like this one fan, would say that Thomas mishandled the lead. The fan took to X to express his disappointment, stating, “Justin Thomas just ruined my day. What an absolute choke job. Up 2 with 3 to play. God damn it.”

Another fan was also very vocal about Thomas letting the victory slip away. “Valspar was excellent. A stark reminder that Justin Thomas isn’t good at winning tournaments. He won’t be in a better position this season. He’s not usually actually contending; it just looks that way when he backdoors a finish. Couldn’t handle it from the front at all,” the fan explained.  His T2 finish at Pebble Beach this year and T2 finish at the Hero World Challenge in the past few months kind of say the same thing.

Another netizen believed that Thomas will need something to alleviate the pain from the devastating loss on Sunday at the Copperhead Course, considering he was very close to breaking his PGA Tour trophy drought of 1037 days. “Justin Thomas gonna need some good Kush tn. What a fu**ing brutal Sunday.” One netizen called out Thomas’s ambition of winning at the Augusta National Golf Course, indicating that it was a bit too far-fetched and improbable. “Sungjae will wear a Green jacket before Justin Thomas,” the fan jokingly opined, with Sungjae Im catching a stray while the fan made his point. There seems to be due reason for thinking this, obviously.

Thomas’s last two wins happened in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, which were the PLAYERS and the PGA Championship, respectively. He has yet to win since then, and therefore it is highly unlikely that the 31-year-old could muster a winning sequence at the upcoming Masters. As one fan put it, “Justin Thomas has two wins in the last five years.”

But Justin Thomas is a fighter. He will keep pushing even if the odds are stacked against him. And his positive attitude helps in maintaining a clear and uncluttered mind. This could be the key for him to overcome the challenge ahead of him. Do you think Justin Thomas can let go of the past demons and claim a PGA Tour victory during this season? Do you think he will be able to snatch the elusive Green Jacket at the Augusta National Golf Course this year?