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Justin Thomas Is A Lost And Broken Man And It Is Very Hard To Watch

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Generally speaking, Justin Thomas is one the best golfers on planet Earth.

He’s a two-time major champion, a former world No. 1, and a two-time Ryder Cup winner as a member of Team USA.

But right now, Thomas is anything but that player.

Thomas has played in 11 events this season if you include this weekend’s British Open (erm, Open Championship). He has just two top-10 finishes in those events and no finish better than ninth.

The fallen superstar missed the cut at The Masters after rounds of 70 and 78. He made the cut at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, but only barely before managing a 65th-place finish.

Thomas seemed to hit the lowest of lows with a second round 81 at the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club that saw him miss yet another cut, this time by a mile.

But that wasn’t rock bottom. No, not yet.

He bounced back with a strong top-10 finish at the Traveler’s Championship the week after the US Open, but then missed another cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

A 26th-place finish at last week’s Scottish Open a week ago gave some reason for optimism heading into this week’s final major of the year

But that optimism quickly went out the window.

Thomas was all over the course on Thursday at a blustery Royal Liverpool on the way to shooting 82. He closed the round with a quadruple bogey 9 at the Par 5 18th hole.

The 11-over round put him in tie for 153rd out of 154 golfers entered in the tournament. The only player behind him is Taichi Kho, a 22-year-old from Hong Kong who primarily plays on the Asian Tour and is making his first major championship appearance.

When Thomas walked off the course at Hoylake on Thursday, he had the look of a broken and battered man who had no idea how he’d gotten to where he was.

It was brutal to see and cruel reminder that golf is very, very difficult. As well as just how quickly it can all disappear.