Coming into Masters week, we rank the 10 players most likely to find themselves in the Butler Cabin on Sunday evening alongside Scottie Scheffler and the leading amateur.
07. Justin Thomas
When Justin Thomas became a two-time major winner at the 2022 PGA Championship, it seemed a case of when not if he’d land a third.
Almost three years on, he’s still searching for his next win of any sort, never mind his next major title, and he’d dipped as low as 33rd in the world rankings – a ranking still sugar-coated by the even more dramatic drop off of LIV golfers.
Thomas’ Augusta National record doesn’t quite stack up to his PGA Tour resume – nor does his record across all Major Championships for that matter – but since finding himself on the outside looking in at the Presidents Cup last year, he’s rediscovered his form and it’s been a one-way ride upwards.
Ok, a win hasn’t quite materialised, but he’s posted runner-up finishes at the ZoZo, American Express and Valspar Championships, and top 10s at the Genesis Invitational and WM Phoenix Open, along with shooting a course-record equalling 62 on day two of The Players Championship.
More importantly, he’s also trending high in all the right statistical categories. He’s been positive in Strokes Gained: Putting in six of eight 2025 starts, positive in Strokes Gained: Around the Green in seven of eight, and positive on Strokes Gained: Approach in each and every start. It’s the latter where he’s excelled most, ranking ninth on Tour, but fifth in the Data Golf Rankings.
Another positive for Thomas fans is that, having abandoned a restrictive diet that coincided with a significant loss in distance off the tee, he’s got the pop back in his bat. He’s not Rory long, but few are, and he’s got the imagination and the control to find the requisite slopes with the requisite spin on Augusta National’s notorious, glass-like putting surfaces.
It’s a big ask to miss two cuts in a row at The Masters and win the following year, but the Justin Thomas that missed those two cuts – his only missed cuts in nine Augusta National starts – is a pale shadow of the man who’ll be back this year.
The Ryder Cup is on the horizon, and what better way to make yourself a near-automatic selection than by putting in a big performance at The Masters?
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