when you compare him to the best players a generation ahead of him.
When Dustin Johnson was Justin Thomas’ age (28 later this year), he had won just six times and did not have a major championship. His statistics were good, but Thomas’ are better. Rory McIlroy had won more majors, but he had also played in a lot more of them. Thomas falls somewhere between the two golfers who now have a combined 51 wins worldwide and six major championships. And he still has nine months left in his age 28 year (Thomas turns 28 in April). Events (worldwide) 192 130 259 Wins (worldwide) 15 6 21 Majors (top 10s) 1 (5) 0 (5) 4 (16) Strokes gained 1.12 1.00 1.69 Strokes gained tee to green 1.49 1.02 1.96 That’s not to say J.T. is going to win four majors like McIlroy or 25 (and counting) times worldwide like D.J., but the framework is certainly there. The signs of it are everywhere. The variety of wins. The pedigree. The comparisons. The fact that on Sunday he joined Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller and Tiger as the only golfers in the last 60 years to win 14 or more times on the PGA Tour before turning 28. And trajectory plus obsession makes for an intoxicating vision. Thomas is not just great on a spreadsheet either. If you have to boil it down to a hole, watch him play No. 16 from Sunday’s round. He hit a hooking runner off the tee that played into the throat of TPC Sawgrass’ fulcrum hole. Then he hit a towering, fading 5-wood that ran toward both the pin and the water with the tournament on the line. The shots on the next two holes — and especially the Houdini driver on No. 18 — got all the attention, but J.T. played No. 16 the way Pedro Martinez dealt in his prime. You should not be allowed to throw 99 MPH with movement and also 82 that disappears, but here we are. The most impressive thing about Thomas’ actual game is how he can change speeds on you, mostly with his wedges but apparently off the tee as well. It’s something a lot of players with world-class speed struggle with, but it’s probably his biggest weapon. Thomas is who we thought Spieth was. We have known this for years now, and it doesn’t diminish what Spieth has achieved, but the ball-striking crown between those two is not difficult to adjudicate. The question now is whether Bryson is who we thought J.T. was. Will he soon usurp what J.T. has done and what he could be in the future? (Jon Rahm is also up for consideration, but we can have that conversation another day.) Want the sharpest DFS advice, picks and data-driven golf analysis? Listen below and subscribe to The First Cut Golf podcast where we explain what’s happening on the course so you can win off of it.The difference between J.T. and Bryson is not a variation in will — both are clearly insanely driven. Rather, it is a variation in curiosity. Thomas knows who he is and what he’s trying to do. Bryson, on the other hand, is a walking A/B test.
