For Golf’s Former Golden Boys, the Distance Back to the Top Keeps Growing

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Justin Thomas had played, by his own estimation, “flawless” golf for 13 holes. He had made it all the way to the 16th hole at 2 under par. Then he did what everybody in golf does at some point. Everybody except Scottie Scheffler.

Thomas missed the fairway, successfully lobbied his ball to “get left, get left, get left” of the bunkers, and then stood in the rough and chunked it. Or maybe the course chunked it. Min Woo Lee described the Aronimink rough as “juicy,” and Sahith Theegala compared it to “an unripened banana.” Thomas’s shot traveled 97 yards, into more rough. His next shot was just on the wrong side of perfect. It ended up in a bunker, Thomas made bogey, and … well …

Thomas is 1 under, two shots off the lead. His buddy Jordan Spieth is also one under. Their friend Rickie Fowler is even par. They all played really good golf on a difficult course, and yet … well …

Eight years ago this week, Thomas, Spieth and Fowler were Nos. 1, 3 and 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Rory McIlroy was No. 8. Scheffler was on the Korn Ferry Tour. 

It sounds ridiculous now to say that Thomas and Spieth were taking control of the sport. It would not have seemed so ridiculous then. Spieth was 24 and had already won three major championships. Thomas was 25 and had won seven of his last 38 starts, including a PGA Championship. Fowler was 29 and had four PGA Tour wins and zero majors, so he was not nearly as accomplished. But one of Fowler’s four wins was the Players Championship, and he was so tight with Thomas and Spieth that they would have wanted him in the photo.

In golf, rounds are slow, but years go by fast. Since 2018, Spieth and Thomas have combined to win one major (the 2022 PGA, which Thomas won.) The collective reaction to their first-round scores is not, “Here they go again!” It’s: “Let’s see that again.” Post another round below par. Appear on the leaderboard Saturday. Then we’ll talk.

Fowler is not even in that category anymore. He is 37. In the last decade, he has contended in one major. He has failed to qualify for four of the last five Masters. He remains eminently likeable; if Fowler does win a major, people will be thrilled for him. But they will be shocked, too.

As Thomas made his bogey on No. 16 Thursday, Scheffler was lurking in the group behind him. Scheffler is always lurking. He was also 2 under when he arrived at No. 16. He also hit his drive into the left rough. But he hit his next one onto the fairway, then lofted a dart that came to rest four feet from the pin. Scheffler made birdie, got to three under, and … well … 

Scheffler is not just better than Spieth and Thomas. He is significantly better than they ever were. That is not a knock on them. Scheffler is an historically great player. Scheffler is so preposterously, relentlessly good that even though Thomas is a top-20 player and a two-time major champion, that two-shot swing on 16 Thursday feels like more than Thomas can overcome.

Statistically, Scheffler is the most likely PGA Tour player to make birdie and least likely to make bogey. He is first in greens in regulation and fourth in scrambling. Most disturbingly for everybody else trying to win the Wanamaker Trophy this week: Scheffler is 77th in Round 1 scoring average, yet here he is with a share of the first-round lead.

Of course Thomas or Spieth can beat Scheffler. But Scheffler makes the how hard to envision. Spieth can make par from the bed of a pickup truck, but that’s not a great formula against the most consistent player of this generation. Thomas is longer than Scheffler and has the game to win anywhere, but he said Thursday that “Honestly, I just had a very hard time staying focused.” I remember Scheffler saying something like that once: When he arrived at the 72nd green at Augusta National in 2022 with the Masters locked up, then four-putted. Other than that … well …

Thomas said Thursday that “I really only hit a couple bad shots today.” Spieth said that, “I feel like I played better than I scored, which is frustrating because you want to get the most out of your round.” They played really well. They are Hall of Fame players. They are only two strokes behind Scheffler, and there are 54 holes to play, and yet … well …

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