Fueled by a 90-foot eagle putt, Justin Thomas opened the Scottish Open with his best score in four months.
Thomas’ bomb on the par-5 seventh hole and a birdie on the last sent him on his way to a 6-under 65. That marked his best score on any tour since a third-round 64 at The Players Championship in March – the score that put him in position for his furious finish to claim the title at TPC Sawgrass.
Since then, Thomas has been uncharacteristically quiet. The Players is his only top-10 finish in a full-field event this year.
“Obviously 6 under is great,” he said after his round Thursday. “I’d love that every round of golf I play. Bogey-free made it pretty stress-free. I was a little upset or disappointed with some of the iron shots I hit; felt I could have hit them closer. But nice to play that last hole as well as I did to hopefully generate some momentum.”
Full-field scores from the abrdn Scottish Open
Though the Renaissance Club isn’t a traditional links, the course demands some creativity with the shot-making and should provide an adequate warmup for players wanting some reps before next week’s Open Championship. Conditions were benign on Thursday, with little wind, thus the low scoring that saw Jack Senior lead the way with 64 and nearly a hundred players under par.
When asked if he wanted to see the wind blow more, to get him ready for Royal St. George’s, Thomas said: “I don’t care. As long as I’m holding the trophy at the end of the week, I’m pretty pleased with that preparation for The Open.”