Bryson DeChambeau has grabbed the golfing world’s attention, but Justin Thomas believes that you don’t need to go huge off the tee to win tournaments.
Speaking ahead of the rescheduled US Masters which gets underway on Thursday 12 November at the Augusta National Golf Course, Thomas said that DeChambeau’s power doesn’t give him that much of an advantage.
‘He’s not winning every tournament’
In 112 events DeChambeau has notched seven PGA Tour victories, four second-place finishes and ended in the top ten 28 times and it is that record that Thomas believes is evidence that his compatriot is beatable.
“No offence to him, but he’s not winning every tournament he’s playing in, so it’s clearly not too much of a disadvantage [to not hit as far as DeChambeau],” Thomas told the Golf Channel from Augusta.
Thomas believes the power element of DeChambeau’s game has been sensationalised obscuring the fact that he is a great putter.
“You still have to get the ball in the hole,” the 2017 PGA Championship winner added.
“Although he has a big advantage, I still think that he wins tournaments he does because he still putts it really well. He’s a great putter, and it’s a very underrated part of his game.”
Justin Thomas doesn’t feel muscle will win him US Masters
Thomas asserts that he doesn’t need to add 40 pounds of muscle to win tournaments.
“I mean, he’s put on a lot of weight. I don’t necessarily think 40 pounds of muscle.
“He’s just eating everything in sight and he’s working out a lot. He’s gotten huge,” Thomas said.
“I have zero desire to put on 50 or 40 pounds. I could put on 10 and it would be a good 10 pounds, but I mean, I don’t need to hit it 370 yards or 340 yards in the air to win every tournament.”
DeChambeau will tee off at Augusta at 14:33 (SAST) on Thursday alongside South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Spain’s Jon Rahm, who grabbed headlines of his own with a sensational hole-in-one in practice.
Watch | Jon Rahm records the most insane hole-in-one you’re likely to see!
Thomas will get his Masters underway at 18:49, in a bid to win his second major title.
Read: Six South Africans eye green jacket at 2020 Masters
Charl Schwartzel is the only South African in the field with a Masters title under his belt. He tees off at 14:55 with Tiger Woods.
Masters 2020 | All the Round 1 tee times – and where to watch
