Justin Thomas was once regarded to be one of the greatest golfers. Till 2022, the 31-year-old player won every year for seven consecutive years. Then something happened. The last time the American professional could grab a trophy was at the PGA Championship in May 2022. It has been more than two and a half years that he has been winless. But well, he might be on the verge of breaking his hiatus.

The 31-year-old is currently teeing off in Albany at the 2024 Hero World Classic, and after three rounds he has managed to take the lead by just one stroke. When asked what the win would mean to him at the Saturday post-round presser, JT said, “Yeah, it would be great. I’ve been progressing nicely, and have been working on all the right things. Feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s all I can do. I can’t control everybody else or what’s going on, I’ve just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it’s enough come Sunday.” JT has been working on his swing for the past two months, and it has been helping him. His finish at T14 at the Tour Championship and T2 at the ZOZO Championship are proof.

For him winning a trophy from Tiger Woods is as big a deal as grabbing a trophy after almost three years. When asked what it meant to get the trophy from the 15X major champion, Justin Thomas said, “Yeah, yeah, that would be great. I’ve had a couple of opportunities in the past, but it’s something I’d love to check off my box in my career at some point.” After all, ticking items off of the checklist is important. In his last four appearances in the Bahamas, he has come very close to winning, finishing in the top 5 every time. Last year, he was in the second runner-up position, losing to Scottie Scheffler by just four strokes. 

A trophy coming from his big brother would probably mean the world to Justin Thomas. Over the years, these brothers have experienced it all: playing together, competing against each other, and forming a deep mutual respect. The two are close neighbors in Florida, and Thomas has also developed a strong relationship with Charlie.

“We have become so close that I think Charlie’s like Justin’s little brother he never had, and Justin has become the little brother I never had,” Woods said in 2021.

Thomas, who became the first-time dad just a few days ago,

has also seen Woods’s new side since his daughter’s arrival. “He’s been unbelievable,” Thomas said of Woods. “I mean, yeah. I’ve definitely seen a new side of him. I mean, it’s just been really cool. He’s so—he’s always checking in, wanting to see how I’m doing, how Jill’s doing, how Molly’s doing.” Yeah, just another example of their brotherly bond!

On Friday, when he lost the lead to Scottie Scheffler by two strokes and was tied for second, Justin Thomas stated that he was Albany was an easy nut to crack if the weather remained pleasant. “Out here it’s so doable, you literally can birdie every hole as soft as the greens are. I mean, he’s a great — a great player but a great wedge player and you have a lot of birdie holes to start. I’m honestly surprised he only shot 8 under, I would expect him — not that it was a lack of effort to keep the pedal kind of down, but it’s a sneaky course because if you fall asleep on some shots, you can get out of position. But if you’re on and focused and really in control of everything, like these last two days with no wind, you can just make so many birdies. It wasn’t a big surprise to me at all.” Given the pleasant weather, #1 would have had a couple more birdies, said JT. However, things according to him were different on Saturday.

The wind made a foul play on Saturday for Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas carded only six birdies and still took the lead on Saturday. This was because the weather in Albany was not as great as the past two days. Despite having a 96% probability of rain, it did not rain, but it sure was dark with 94% cloud cover making visibility an issue, and the wind gusts also interrupted, blowing in at a speed of 22 km/h.

When asked about the difficulty of the condition, the PGA Tour Pro said, “It was a lot more difficult, quite a bit more wind. I mean, the greens, they get a little—they’re a little crusty; they could get, and I feel like with the wind, you know, the ball can move a lot. You have to kind of honestly guess or time it right on a lot of putts because of how much the ball can move on the greens.”

He also added that he shifted his entire focus to the game and tried being a bit more patient, and that turned out to be fruitful for him. “The couple of times I had to salvage par, I was able to do that, and the rest was fairly low stress,” added JT.

Sunday has worse weather approaching. This time the wind gusts will blow in at a whopping speed of 46 km/h, and the cloud cover will remain the same. Additionally, there is still a 25% chance of rain. Will Justin Thomas maintain his calm and beat through the challenges to win the trophy? Stay tuned to find out!