Players champion Justin Thomas will be trying to build off his Masters finish in November – The Florida Times-Union

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Justin Thomas joined aprestigiousgroup when he won The Players Championship last month.

He would add his name to an even smaller subset of PGA Tour stars if he continues his steady progress at Augusta National and wins the Masters this week.

Thomas fired weekend rounds of 64-68 at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass torally fromseven shots back to win at 14-under274.In becoming the fourth player in Tour history to win 14 times before his 28thbirthday(Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller are the others), Thomasalsobecame the fourth player to win a Players, a major championship, a World Golf Championship and a FedEx Cup playoff event, joining Woods, Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson.

IfThomaswins the Masters, there would be only two players in history with a green jacket, a Players, a WGC and a FedEx playoff victory.

Woods is the other. That's what youcall select company.

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Woods also is the only player in history to win a Players Championship, then follow that up with a victory at the Masters, in 2001.

Thomas said his Players victory was remarkable in the sense that he wasnt exactly overflowing with confidence entering the week and was still carrying some emotional baggage after the death of his grandfather in February and the fallout from the homophobic slurhe uttered at himself at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January that was caught on TV and resulted in the loss of sponsors and his apologies.

I had not been playing great, Thomas said on Tuesday before a practice session at the Augusta National Golf Club. I wasnt in a great place mentally … and for some reason, it just clicked.

Thomas lost himself on the TPC Sawgrass range and short-game areas that week to try to piece together the missing parts of his game.

I practiced really, really hard Monday through Wednesday, just to find something, to try to figure something out to where I can play the tournament and just get it around, he said. Because I know that you can have hot rounds out there. I was fortunate to just squeak by Friday [when he made the cut with a shot to spare] and found one of those rounds on Saturday.

"Once I get there Sunday, I was comfortable and just had to stay patient and stay in my own little world and was able to really play flawlessly, tee-to-green, and that was good enough to get it done.

He now faces another challenge at the Masters, which he said is even more of a grind as far as preparation goes.

Its a long and grueling week and it takes a toll on you mentally andphysical, he said. SoIve been really trying to get rested and used [Monday through Wednesday] as opportunities to get ready to where I feel like Im near the top of peaking for my game once we tee it up Thursday.

While Thomas didnt achieve quick success at Augusta like long-time friend Jordan Spieth (who tied for second, won and tied for second in his first three career Masters starts), or Woods (who won his first start as a professional and had three victories in his first six years), Thomas has demonstrated a steady learning curve.

He tied for 39thin his first Masters start in 2016, with bumpy first (76) and third rounds (78).

But Thomas has improved his standing in every start since and has only one additional round of 76. He tied for 22ndin 2017, for 17thin 2018, for 12thin 2019 and then turned in a solo fourth last November and was among the elite group tied for first through 36 holes.

Thomas shot two under-par rounds on the weekend but the 71-70 lost ground to winner Dustin Johnson and runners-up Cameron Smith andSungjaeIm.

Thomas discovered one of the keys to playing at Augusta National, hitting greens, from the beginning. He was 11thin the field in greens in regulation in his first start (.639) and has never been worse than sixth since then.

His main struggle, like so many other players, has been onthegreens. Thomas averaged30.937 puttsper round in his first four starts, ranking no better than 42ndamong the players who made the cut.

However, hedid better lastNovember, finishing 10thin putts per round (28.75). That was more than a half-shot per roundand in a game and at a place where the margin of victory can be minuscule, thats real progress,

Thomas is cautious, however,about any perceived progress had made because of the nature of the Augusta National greens in November as opposed to the firmer and faster surfaces in April.

It was still the same golf course tee-to-green but it was a different golf course at the same time, he said. Any sort of past memory that y I feel like its a place that Im going to win at some point … I feel like I can do it multiple times.ou had, you almost had to throw it out the window because a lot of chips and putts just reacted differently.

But he said the week still gave him confidence.

Im able to grow on the good finish and had a chance, he said. I was in the final group on Saturday and the second-to-last group on Sunday. I know I can play this place well … very similar to [the Players Stadium Course].I feel like its a place that Im going to win at some point … I feel like I can do it multiple times.

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Players champion Justin Thomas will be trying to build off his Masters finish in November - The Florida Times-Union