LOS ANGELES — Justin Thomas of the United States reacts to his missed putt on the sixth green during the first round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 15, 2023. | Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
The two-time major champion, Justin Thomas, continues to struggle. He almost finished dead last at the Los Angeles Country Club
Justin Thomas missed another cut at a major championship. This time, it was not close at the 2023 U.S. Open. The performance left Thomas feeling a bit down on himself.
He openly called his U.S. Open ‘humiliating’ and ‘embarrassing.’
Thomas opened the 123rd U.S. Open with a 3-over 73 on Thursday, a poor round in benign conditions but not bad enough to completely sink his hopes.
But his second round on Friday was nothing short of atrocious.
He carded an 11-over 81, the worst round of his major championship career, as he channeled the late Kobe Bryant in shooting an 81 in Los Angeles. But seriously, no offense meant to one of the greatest basketball players to ever live.
Of the 312 rounds played during the first two days, only two failed to break 80 at the Los Angeles Country Club.
Thomas was that bad. Only three players finished worse than he did.
“I’ll figure it out. I have another major left,” Thomas said after the round. “If I win the British Open, nobody even remembers that I’ve missed the cut by a zillion here, so I’ve just got to find a way to get better and learn from this, and if I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”
Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES — Justin Thomas plays his shot from the 15th tee during the second round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 16, 2023.
The two-time PGA Champion made three double-bogeys on Friday.
He ranked dead last in driving distance, and strokes gained off the tee in the second round.
Thomas hit just 5-of-13 fairways, which did not give him any opportunity to score or attack accessible hole locations. Consequently, Thomas lost 2.82 strokes to the field on approaches, ranking 152nd.
If there is something Thomas needs to pinpoint and focus on in his game, it’s his driving. He consistently failed to find LACC’s wide fairways, which led to his total failure at the U.S. Open.
It is just the third time Thomas has missed a cut at a U.S. Open. He missed the weekend in 2014 at Pinehurst No. 2 and in 2019 at Pebble Beach.
Thomas will look to bounce back at Royal Liverpool in July. If he wins the Open Championship, he is right; nobody will remember his Southern Californian disaster.
