Justin Thomas finishes runner-up by one at ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP after several putts burn edge

Justin Thomas scratched the back of his neck on the 18th green Sunday at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, softly at first but with gradually increasing intensity. The angst was emanating from Thomas, or so it seemed, as a chance at victory morphed into a one-stroke defeat.

Thomas shared runner-up at the ZOZO, with his 19-under total one short of winner Nico Echavarria, who carded a final-round 67 at ACCORDIA GOLF Narashino Country Club to outlast Thomas (66) and Max Greyserman (65) on a closely contested Sunday outside Tokyo.

“It’s a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” Thomas said afterward. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament … I gave myself a chance.”

Echavarria now holds two TOUR titles, both more recently than Thomas’ last win, as former world No. 1 Thomas' victory drought extends to the 2022 PGA Championship. At times this week, Thomas seemed destined to snap that skid. He arrived in Japan with good vibes, as he and his wife Jillian are expecting their first child in the coming weeks, and he utilized a mix of good play and good fortune to earn a spot in Sunday’s final grouping alongside Echavarria and Greyserman.

One such break came at the par-4 fourth hole Saturday, where Thomas’ second shot from the right trees skipped across the water and safely into the fairway; he got up and down for par from 42 yards as part of a bogey-free 65.

Then on the par-5 14th hole Sunday, Thomas snap-hooked his tee shot into a wooded area left of the fairway, but his ball settled a couple feet left of a tree and he was able to lay up into the fairway, en route to a two-putt par. Thomas made just one bogey across 72 holes in Japan (the fourth hole Thursday, his 13th), and he produced sterling metrics, ranking No. 10 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and No. 3 in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green.

But the flat stick has been Thomas’ bugaboo this season (he entered the week at No. 167 in Strokes Gained: Putting), and although the eye test validated Thomas’ belief that he’s turning a corner on the greens, the putts refused to drop down the stretch Sunday. Thomas burned the edge on several mid-range birdie chances on the back nine Sunday – including back-to-back 7-footers on Nos. 12 and 13, and a 19-footer on No. 17 that looked in the entire way before softly skirting the left lip (he finished the week 47th of 77 players in Strokes Gained: Putting). Those misses gave Echavarria the cushion to withstand a bogey at the par-5 14th, as the Colombian made birdie at Nos. 16 and 18 to eke out a one-stroke victory (Thomas got up-and-down from a greenside bunker for birdie at the par-5 18th).

“Hit so many good putts today that just didn't go in,” Thomas said. “That's the difference. I needed some of those ones that burned the edge to fall.”

It’s safe to assume that any residual sting from the ZOZO will quickly fade in the coming weeks when he becomes a dad for the first time. It has been a positive season overall for Thomas, who finished No. 14 on the FedExCup one year after failing to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs. He’s still a proven winner with 15 TOUR titles to his credit, and at age 31 he still has ample career runway ahead.

Yet it’s his second straight year without a PGA TOUR title, and judging by that angsty back-scratch, he doesn’t view that statistic fondly. The silver lining: He’ll return from paternity leave with even more motivation to get back into the winner’s circle.

“I did a lot of things really well,” Thomas said. “The stuff I've been working on, everything I've been doing is obviously the right stuff and I'm still going the right direction. Just got to keep trying to put myself in contention and right there as often as I can.

“Just kind of hope for a law of averages thing, eventually you end up getting it done, but it's just about putting yourself there more.”