June 23, 2024; Cromwell, Conn., USA; Justin Thomas hits the ball off the fourth tee during the final round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports Justin Thomas birdied his final two holes to shoot a 3-under-par 68 to set the tone for the 152nd Open Championship on Thursday at Royal Troon in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.
Thomas, a two-time major champion who has struggled in recent seasons, had seven birdies to offset two bogeys and a double. A chip-in birdie on the second hole got him going again, and he was 4 under par after 11 holes before losing his tee shot on the par-4 12th hole.
Settling for a double bogey there and a bogey on No. 13 didn’t put him out of contention in the cool, rainy conditions on the Scottish seaside. Thomas birdied the par-3 17th hole from 8 feet to join a group of co-leaders at 2 under par, and he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to take the lead.
“I feel like everything is going in the right direction and I’m working on the right things,” said Thomas, who has not won since the 2022 PGA Championship. “Like I said, I haven’t really had much to show for it. That’s just the way this game works sometimes. But I know I’m close to winning, and I’m going to keep playing and not for the results, just for my game, and it’ll come.”
Sweden’s Alex Noren, Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard, England’s Justin Rose and Britain’s Russell Henley shot 2-under-par 69s earlier in the day. Rose, 43, who had to go through final qualifying to qualify, was the only one to shoot a bogey-free round.
Australia’s Adam Scott, England’s Matt Wallace and Chris Kirk were in the clubhouse at 1 under 70.
Northern Ireland native Rory McIlroy is already in danger of not making the cut after a disastrous run of holes. On the par-3 eighth hole, nicknamed the Postage Stamp because of its small green, McIlroy found the Coffin bunker off the tee. On his first attempt at an out, the ball slid down the slope into the sand.
After recording a double bogey there and another at the 10th, McIlroy hit a hole out of bounds at the par-4 11th hole and suffered another double bogey. His score was 6 over par after 16 holes at 3 p.m. local time.
Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Collin Morikawa had just kicked off the afternoon heat.
–Field level media
