MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Justin Thomas officially began working with a new putting coach on the eve of the U.S. Open.
After a few sessions earlier this summer, Thomas said he is now seeing putting guru John Graham for some help on the greens.
Thomas had worked with Matt Killen since his college days at Alabama. After ranking as an above-average putter in 2017 and ’18, he has slipped outside the top 100 in strokes gained: putting, losing strokes to the field, in each of the past two seasons.
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“I felt like I had a really good setup and a really good stroke,” Thomas said. “[Killen] did a great job of getting me in that. We were both having a hard time figuring out why I was missing putts when I got done with the round. That’s an issue because then you don’t know what to address.”
Thomas said his speed control was “terrible,” and a few sessions with Graham have helped him with his visualization and green-reading.
“It’s not like I’m going out and doing mechanical stuff,” he said. “It’s just trying to get the muscle memory of hitting the putt as far as I want to and feeling comfortable playing different breaks and almost creating shots. That’s something that, as a feel player, as much of a feel player as I am, it’s been really helpful.”
Thomas needed just 28 putts Thursday at Winged Foot, which is notorious for its wildly undulating and speedy greens. His opening 5-under 65 is the lowest score ever recorded in a U.S. Open at Winged Foot.