PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Justin Thomas didn’t expect to win his first start back after six months on the sidelines. He also didn’t expect that.

Thomas’ triumphant return to the PGA TOUR at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard quickly turned disastrous. To be fair, Bay Hill is about the last course you’d hope to return to after rehabbing from back surgery, but Thomas didn’t shower himself in glory. At the end of two days, he was 14 over and headed home without much optimism.

So as he walked off THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday, Thomas could finally exhale. This was more like it. After a “nightmarish” week at Bay Hill, Thomas rebounded with a 4-under 68 that placed him firmly on the first page of the leaderboard at THE PLAYERS Championship.

“I kind of had a deep breath to myself walking off nine and even, like I said, internally, I needed that,” Thomas said. “I feel like I've been playing well at home. I feel like I'm doing the right thing swinging well. I feel confident with things. But again, until it happens in competition, it's kind of hard to fully buy into you're ready.”

Those doubts crept in after Bay Hill. Thomas vowed at the beginning of the week not to put too much stock into his performance. He wanted to think long-term. Yet it's hard not to sulk when it’s that bad. Thomas was “sad and upset” on Friday night, frustrated by his lack of form despite all the circumstances.

“When you post two pretty humiliating scores, it's not really – it's hard to give yourself too much grace,” Thomas said.

He did little well outside of his short game, which was “pretty ridiculous” given how poorly he scored. But his driver, irons, putter and mental approach all lacked. It was the latter that gave him the most consternation. He found himself spacey on the course, lacking clear direction over shots. He was playing like a zombie. He often had no plan as he stood over shots.

Enter: TPC Sawgrass. There’s something about this place that just jives with Thomas’ game. When he’s playing well, he’s a preeminent shotmaker, and TPC Sawgrass rewards that ability more than any course on TOUR. It forces players not to think about their golf swing, requiring them to shape shots, manipulate trajectory and control spin. That’s what Thomas thrives at when he’s right. It’s also helpful to get Thomas out of his own head and force him to focus on every shot, not about his swing, or his broader performance. Thomas saw the results.

Starting on the back nine, Thomas birdied his first three holes, and though he dropped shots at 17 and 18, he played a clean round from there and picked up three birdies in his last five holes to shoot 4 under. And in direct contrast to Bay Hill, Thomas did everything well, gaining strokes in every aspect of his game. It was the putter that did the most heavy lifting, though. He holed a lot of mid-range putts, 6 to 15 feet, some for needed par saves and others to put red numbers on the board.

“Just feels great to get off to a great start at a big tournament, a tournament that I love,” Thomas said. “I always enjoy playing this place. I just feel like it's just a fun course to play.”

Thomas will now be challenged to replicate it for three more days, though largely that’s not the point. As Thomas works his way back into form, he knows there will be more bad days. He just needed to see that days like Thursday were possible, too.