Thomas' 82 puts him in danger of missing another major cut
An already bad round for Justin Thomas ended with a nightmare on the 18th hole Thursday.
Thomas shot a 9 on the par-5 18th and finished with an opening round of 82 at The Open Championship.
The two-time major winner entered the final hole of the first round already 7-over par, having just three-putted on the par-3 17th. But nothing on the first 17 holes came close to what he did on 18.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Justin Thomas of the United States plays his shot from the bunker on the 18th hole during The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club July 20, 2023, in Hoylake, England. (Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
His tee shot went out of bounds, so he was hitting three back from the tee box. His fourth shot wound up in a greenside bunker, and this is where the real trouble started.
He had no angle to get up and down, so he aimed off the green. Despite a hard swing in the trap, he hit it way too fat and wound up in the other greenside sand.
Once again, Thomas had no shot to get on the green with his lie, so he actually hit his sixth shot backwards and into some of the thick stuff. Thomas finally was on the green in seven.
Justin Thomas of the United States reacts on the 14th hole during The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club July 20, 2023, in Hoylake, England. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
MICHAEL BLOCK STUNS DJ KHALED WITH INCREDIBLE GOLF SHOT AHEAD OF STAR-STUDDED TOURNAMENT
Thomas had roughly 12 feet for a triple-bogey save, and of course, his putt came up one roll short. After the tap in, it went down as a quadruple bogey.
His day even started out awful, as he chipped into a bunker off the green on the very first hole.
— Man Bear Pig is Real dot Com (@MBPisReal) July 20, 2023
At the time he entered the clubhouse, Thomas was tied for 154th on the day with just one player behind him on the leaderboard — Taichi Kho, who shot a 12-over 83.
Thomas has struggled in every major this year. He missed the cut at both the Masters and U.S. Open, and he finished tied for 65th at the PGA Championship. He has more rounds in the 80s (two) in majors this year than made cuts, with his last major round being an 81 at Los Angeles Country Club last month.
Justin Thomas hits out of a bunker on the 18th green on the first day of the British Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, Thursday, July 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Englishman Tommy Fleetwood is tied for the lead at five under on his home soil at Royal Liverpool with Emiliano Grillo and amateur Christo Lamprecht.
