Soon-to-be father Justin Thomas 'hungry' for win at ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP after second-round 64

Justin Thomas wasn’t upset, per se, to have only made one birdie through nine holes Friday at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. But he knew he was playing well enough that he should be primed for a scoring run.

And then he stepped on the gas.

Thomas leaned on an impressive off-the-tee effort to convert three birdies and an eagle on his back nine Friday leading to a 6-under 64 at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club.

At 10-under, he’s just two shots back of the lead held by Nico Echavarria through 36 holes in Japan. And Thomas is as eager as ever to break a two-year winless drought this week before he becomes a first-time dad next month.

“I felt like I had some pretty good scoring opportunities there on the front nine and to only be 1-under was, I don't want to say disappointing, but felt like closer to the higher end of what I could have or should have shot,” Thomas said. “I know how this place is if you drive it well and I have a lot of confidence in how I was driving it.

“Just tried to keep putting it in the fairway and attack from there.”

Thomas made birdie on the par-5 sixth before adding circles on the scorecard on Nos. 10, 13, and 16. He hit his approach on the par 5 to just 3 feet from 220 yards away for a round-ending eagle.

Thomas said he normally hits 3-wood off the tee on No. 18, but in a misty rain, he didn’t think he could cover the fairway bunker with that club Friday. Thomas clubbed up to driver and said he just hit the same kind of shot he had been hitting all day – and it couldn’t have come out any better.

“With 214 in, just took a little bit off of a 5-iron, just kind of cut it off the left center of the green," he said. "That's what I'm trying to get on the green. I think hitting it in there four feet is a bonus, but that's the advantage of soft greens and hitting a good shot."

Thomas had every reason to be chuffed with his driving Friday, ending the day third in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. His putting has been the real difference through 36 holes, however. Thomas struggled with the flat stick in 2024, sitting 167th on the PGA TOUR in SG: Putting. He’s 34th in the same statistic so far this week, though.

This is Thomas’ first event back in action on the PGA TOUR in almost two months and his first time at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club since 2019 for the inaugural ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.

Thomas had a tidy bounce-back campaign in 2024 after missing the FedExCup Playoffs last season – notching five top-10 finishes and returning to East Lake and the TOUR Championship. But he hasn’t won on TOUR since 2022.

Thomas said it would be extra special if he were to be able to take this one across the finish line. And no real surprise, either – four of his 15 TOUR titles have come in Asia already.

“I'm eager to win any tournament, I always want to," Thomas said. "When things are going well, you feel like you should do that quite often and every year, but it's just the reality of how difficult the sport is. Also, I think the TOUR is quite a bit deeper than even when I first came out. You have a lot of guys that are freakishly talented and have no fear and are hungry to win like all of us are."

He added, "It's not entirely different than it has been for a little while, but just trying to play the best I can and hopefully that results in (a win).”