After midday putter switch, Justin Thomas surges into WM Phoenix Open contention

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – It’s not often that a professional golfer can make a midday putter switch.

Per unique circumstances, Justin Thomas did exactly that Friday at the WM Phoenix Open.

During a half-hour break between his first and second rounds early Friday afternoon, Thomas switched putters after a conversation with caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay, who had noticed Thomas’ hands were slightly behind the ball at setup. Thomas had tried a new putter to begin the WM (a newer version of his "gamer," the Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5), but he struggled to find a rhythm on the greens in an opening round that spanned Thursday and Friday, ranking 99th in Strokes Gained: Putting (-1.06).

The audible proved dividends, as Thomas rebounded from an opening-round, 2-under 69 at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course with a second-round, 6-under 65. Thomas stands at 8-under 134 midway through the WM, four back of co-leaders Nick Taylor and Andrew Novak, with approximately half of Round 2 to be completed Saturday morning (a three-and-a-half-hour weather delay Thursday was complemented by a nearly two-hour frost delay Friday morning).

He gained 1.89 strokes on the greens in his Friday afternoon round (seventh in SG: Putting as things stand), a substantial improvement that puts him into the mix for the weekend at one of golf’s most electric stadiums.

“The putter I went back to the second round is my gamer, the one I’ve used for a long time and had a lot of success with,” Thomas said after completing his second round. “The one that I used this morning was just the new model of it. I had no intention of using it, but honestly my putter felt so bad the first couple days this week after Pebble last week that … I was putting with it, and it felt good. My speed was good with it. I was starting it on-line. I went with it; I felt like I had a lot better chance of making putts with that than the other one.

“I have full faith I would have putted the same with the other putter, but there's something about using something you're comfortable with.”

It was a marathon Friday for Thomas, who arrived at the course around 5 a.m. local time and noticed that fans were already on the grounds, readying to enjoy a libation amidst the crisp winter air. He conducted a post-round interview after sunset, having two-putted for a closing par in the day’s waning light. He was cheery as he met the media, grinning at the uniqueness of the putter switch and pleased that it proved to be the correct move.

Thomas hasn’t won on TOUR since the 2022 PGA Championship, but recent results indicate that could change soon. He began the season with a T3 at The American Express and a T6 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, having also finished top-five in his final three worldwide starts of 2023. He stands No. 19 on the Official World Golf Ranking, and there’s plenty of reason to believe he could keep climbing – especially if the putter continues to cooperate.

“It was more of a setup thing than anything,” Thomas said of his putter swap. “I think my hands were getting a little behind it, and Bones mentioned something and it was something my dad saw earlier in the week, too. So just put a little bit more of an emphasis on that and really just tried to get good speed and made some nice ones.

“I think (Mackay) could see that I was struggling, and I just didn't feel good over it. I’ve struggled, which is a first in my career, like the last season of pulling putts. It's something I've never done. I've always been a pusher, if anything. So kind of adjusting to that is a little tougher … But I got in a good rhythm with it in Palm Springs, and it was kind of hard to tell anything at Pebble last week with how bumpy they were, and I think honestly how bumpy the greens were messed with me a little bit last week mentally and my confidence. Really tried to see a lot go in these Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, but just wasn't quite comfortable enough in my hands.

“I felt like it was a nice adjustment of hitting putts solid and getting the speed correct.”