Why Justin Thomas’ latest ‘disappointment’ at the Zozo looked different

It was not yet Sunday morning in the United States when the old feeling rewashed over Justin Thomas.

As with each of his starts in the last two-and-a-half years, Thomas’ Sunday at the Zozo Championship in Japan had ended with a loss. His winless streak — a cruel reminder of how fickle and fleeting his chosen profession can be — would extend into another week, another month, and possibly even another year.

Officially, Thomas lost by only a single shot. Nico Echavarria, the 30-year-old Colombian pro, made birdies on two of his last three holes to eke out a win over Thomas, who made birdie on only one of his last three.

Echavarria was a worthy champ, particularly after entering the day with a two-shot lead and making five birdies to secure his lead. But Thomas also would have been a worthy champ — a player seeking to end a 30-month winless streak that began at the very top of the sport at the 2022 PGA Championship. Instead, Thomas returned to locker room at the Zozo with only platitudes.

“Yeah, it’s a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” Thomas said. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament. Hit so many good putts today that just didn’t go in, that’s the difference. I needed some of those ones that burned the edge to fall.”

Yes, Thomas’ loss at the Zozo sounded a lot like his losses at other tournaments this year — events where his game has arrived for long enough to be in the hunt but not long enough to grab a victory. After those events, Thomas has told us about his pride in his performance, and about his faith that things are moving in the right direction.

But for once, at the Zozo, it looked like those platitudes might be headed toward something.

Thomas made just one bogey over the course of 72 holes for the week at the Zozo, ranking near the top of the field in strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: approach — two stats that were hallmarks of his career’s high points in ’20 and ’21. He managed the pressure of the lead on Sunday with a characteristic blend of opportunistic golf, gaining close to 2-and-a-half shots on the field over a long, bogey-free Sunday.

These were not the visions of Thomas who climbed to the world no. 1 spot, nor the visions of him that snuck into a PGA Championship victory in ’22 after Mito Perreira’s 72nd hole collapse. No, they were visions of a new JT — a player who is not self-evidently relevant, but who has seen down the chasm of obscurity.

“The stuff I’ve been working on, everything I’ve been doing is obviously the right stuff and I’m still going the right direction,” Thomas said. “Just got to keep trying to put myself in contention and right there as often as I can.”

In theory, experiences like Sunday make you stronger as a competitor, more hardened, particularly after a journey of self-actualization. Thomas still has to show us if that is truly the case, but the image of him that appeared in Japan at the Zozo looked like a step in the right direction.

“[I need to] hope for a law of averages thing,” Thomas said. “Eventually you end up getting it done, but it’s just about putting yourself there more.”