{"id":1249219,"date":"2024-01-31T10:45:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T10:45:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/justin-thomas-feels-close-to-winning-again-after-ridding-himself-of-bad-habits\/"},"modified":"2024-02-01T14:35:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T14:35:43","slug":"justin-thomas-feels-close-to-winning-again-after-ridding-himself-of-bad-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/justin-thomas-feels-close-to-winning-again-after-ridding-himself-of-bad-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Thomas feels close to winning again after ridding himself of \u2018bad habits\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justin Thomas believes he is close to winning tournaments again after ridding himself of the \u201cbad habits\u201d caused by unnecessary swing changes.<\/p>\n

Thomas won his second US PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2022 but endured a first winless year of his career last season, failed to make the FedEx Cup play-offs and needed a wild card for the Ryder Cup.<\/p>\n

The former world number one has started 2024 on a much brighter note, finishing third in his first event at The American Express and will contest this week\u2019s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for just the second time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at this point it\u2019s just [about] starting to win tournaments again,\u201d Thomas told a pre-tournament press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m very, very close to doing that and starting to do it often again. But I fully understand that just because you think that doesn\u2019t mean you deserve it or it\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just need to keep putting myself in that position and getting in contention. I think that\u2019s what I did so often there for a handful of years. Last Sunday was the first final group I\u2019ve played in on Sunday in a while and it was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what had made the difference to his game, Thomas added: \u201cI\u2019d say working on the correct things. I think, well I know, that I got into some bad habits swing-wise last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be perfectly honest, I think it just took a little bit of time to get out of some of those, to kind of get that muscle memory out.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Justin
Justin Thomas has not won since claiming his second US PGA Championship in 2022 (David Davies\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to go back in time and wish I didn\u2019t maybe push for some of those changes. I felt like my hands and my arms were starting to get higher and higher and higher and I didn\u2019t necessarily love that.<\/p>\n

\u201c[But] that\u2019s something that kind of makes my swing what it is.<\/a> I\u2019ve always had very high hands\u2026so that was an example of me chasing something that I probably didn\u2019t need to.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad and I both realised it was something that we both should have noticed or not pursued. But like anything we learn from it and planning to not make that mistake again.\u201d<\/p>\n