Justin Thomas crashed out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational upon his return from injury.
The good news was that he was consistent. The bad news? He was consistently the worst player in the field, shooting two rounds of seven-over to finish last and miss the cut.
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It was brave of the 16-time PGA Tour winner to make his return to one of the hardest golf courses on the PGA Tour, having not played golf in five months. Bay Hill is not the place you want to be when you’re not 100% confident in your swing.
That’s especially true when you’re trying to find some form on the greens. The putting surfaces have been baked in the Floridian sun and are playing lightning-fast. Speaking after the round, the American made an ominous prediction about the condition of the course for the weekend.
Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
Justin Thomas said the weekend is going to ‘suck’ at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Thomas did not have an enjoyable week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he thinks that if he made the weekend, his misery would only increase. That’s because he predicts the conditions will deteriorate significantly in the coming days.
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Speaking after missing the cut, he said, “I’d come out here to practice, but it doesn’t really make sense to putt on these greens…
“I mean, there’s zero chance that they’re going to be alive Sunday. They are so dead already, so that is one good thing about not playing here this weekend, because it is going to suck. It’s going to be really hard.”
A number of players have mentioned how quickly these greens are playing. Min Woo Lee said he’s trying to hit 20-foot putts four feet and they’re still rolling past the flag.
The putting surfaces are not representative of how any other PGA Tour course will play this season, so Thomas is right, there’s little to be learned out there for him.
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Rory McIlroy shares honest thoughts on the conditions at Bay Hill
Rory McIlroy has been openly critical about Bay Hill over the years, saying it’s a course that can punish good shots as well as bad ones.
And he seconded Thomas’ notion that this golf course was playing tough, and is only going to get tougher this weekend: “If we don’t get any rain the next couple days, which it looks like we won’t, it’s going to be very, yeah, it’s going to be really difficult.
“It’s difficult even if you hit the ball in the fairway, with this little bit of breeze, with the firm greens, I mean, it’s hard to get the ball close.
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“You’re hitting good iron shots to 25, 30 feet all the time, and then you’re not going to make a lot of those. So, really have to make the bulk of your score on the par-5s and just stay really patient for the rest of the way.”
McIlroy is currently nine shots back from the leading Daniel Berger, so his patience will be tested to the max on the weekend.
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