When you’re struck by failure, your philosophical mind might tell you to get up and try again. Cool, but sometimes the process drags on so long that waiting for a win feels more like an endless chore. That’s where PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas finds himself right now, battling through a two-year winless drought. Once a 15-time PGA winner, he’s now barely able to touch that trophy again. Does that mean his skills have rusted? Definitely not!

This year, Thomas played 20 events and made the cut in 16 of them. Not bad, right? While the win still slipped through his fingers, he notched 6 Top 10 finishes, and 10 Top 25s, and even came in as a runner-up in one tournament. So, things are looking solid—but what’s been standing in his way? It’s been a series of near-misses that have made this drought all the more frustrating.

Now with the Hero World Challenge nearing its conclusion, Thomas has one last chance to prove his game before the season wraps. But before that, let’s revisit those moments where things could’ve gone differently.

1. His first missed cut of the year:

Thomas started well this season by finishing at T-3 and T-6 in The American Express and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am respectively earlier this year. Things were even still at pace when he tied at the 12 WM Phoenix Open. That could have been considered as the golfer’s warm-up, but then came the Genesis Invitational back in February, where Thomas missed his cut for the first time in the season. Thomas missed the cut after shooting a 75 in the first round and a 73 in the second. He ended up at 3-over for the tournament, falling two strokes short of making the cut. That was pretty bad and was quite a disappointment since it was too early in the season.

2. Thomas missed another cut at the Players Championship:

Thomas was just recovering from his first defeat, he once again stumbled a month later in March during the Players Championship. He started strong with an opening round of 72, followed by a 69 in Round 2, which brought his total score to 141. However, he was unable to continue into the weekend​ and ended with a score of -3. This marked another setback in his pursuit of breaking his winless streak. Although Thomas had a solid start to the year with some top-15 finishes, he couldn’t find consistency, and his performance at The Players was one of the missed opportunities.

3. Worst finish at Valspar Championship:

This was another event where JT entered strong but soon things went downhill for him. During the third round after an easy birdie on the first hole, his putting fell apart—he needed 38 putts and made just 22 putts all day. Golf data analyst Rick Gehman pointed out that Thomas lost over 7 strokes on the greens, marking his worst putting round ever. The result? An 8-over 79, leaving him tied for 64th and well out of contention. A tough day on the greens ruined his chances.

4. Terrible heartbreak at the Masters:

“He started strong.” This has been a constant statement throughout Thomas’ on-course journey. And then, things take an off-road turn. Something similar happened at the 2024 Masters, where Justin Thomas was in a solid position heading into the final stretch of his second round, sitting at even par. But. Yes, there is always a but. But then, he hit a double-bogey 7 on the 15th after finding the water, followed by a double-bogey 5 on 16 after a bad bunker shot and a three-putt. The bad luck didn’t stop there—he missed a six-foot par putt on 17 and finished with another double-bogey on 18. By the end, Thomas finished seven over par for the round and missed the cut by just one stroke. Heartbreaking indeed.

5. So far yet so close:

Heartbreaks aren’t always about a loss. Sometimes, it’s those near-misses that sting the most. And that’s exactly what happened with JT at the Zozo Championship where he tied at T2. Yes, he was that close. Heading into the final round, he was just two strokes behind the leader, Nico Echavarria. Thomas shot a solid 5-under 65 in the third round, which kept him in contention for the title. Despite a few putting struggles, including a missed opportunity on the 18th. It was his chance in two years to win and he just nearly missed it. Ouch!

Currently, Justin Thomas is leading the Hero World Challenge, and the question remains: will this be another near miss, or will he finally break his winless streak? Only time will tell. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!