Justin Thomas, You Have Our Attention at the FedEx St. Jude Championship

I was reading through Justin Thomas’ FedEx St. Jude Championship press conference transcript on Wednesday afternoon and was taken aback when he was introduced as No. 5 in the standings. I wouldn’t call it shock, but I’d forgotten how well JT played this year.

He made 15 of 17 cuts during the regular season, finished inside the top-25 eight times, the top-10 seven times, and won the RBC Heritage for his first W since the ‘22 PGA. And on top of all of that, he was the silver medalist three times throughout the year. A couple things go his way, and we’re talking about JT being in the Player of the Year conversation.

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Still, with all that success, Thomas sits seventh in the United States Ryder Cup point standings, meaning if things were to stay the same over the next 11 days—the six automatic qualifiers become official after next week’s BMW Championship—he would need a captain’s pick from Keegan Bradley to don red, white, and blue at Bethpage Black in September.

His goal for the next week and a half? Take his fate out of Cap’s hands.

“I'm thinking about (the Ryder Cup), but in terms of form and playing well for it, first and foremost, I really, really want to earn—I want to be in that top six,” Thomas said. “Just for me personally, it just would mean a lot to me to get that done because having been picked or having to rely on a pick a couple times, I definitely like the level of low stress and just the sense of calm knowing that you're qualified versus waiting for that phone to ring.”

Now, before you say anything, yes, Bradley would be insane not to pick Thomas. The guy lives for moments like the Ryder Cup. His intensity, his emotions, he’s built for an arena like that. So it’s not like he won’t be on the team if he doesn’t get inside the top six. It’s just a comfort thing, and I get that.

Luckily for Thomas, he’s got a pretty great track record around TPC Southwind, the host of this week’s St. Jude Championship: T-30 (2024), T-13 (2022), T-26 (2021), 1st (2020), and T-12 (2019).

And after “quite the grind” between the PGA and Open, Thomas has had a few weeks at home to rest up for the final push.

“It was just nice to honestly take some time away, just relax a little bit, not do much and get back into it,” Thomas said. “I think at least for me, the time off is nice to where I'm excited to go out to the course and practice and feel like I'm getting ready for something again because if not it can become a little—some days wake up and maybe not quite as motivated or excited as others. Honestly, just happy to be here and rested and refreshed.”

For the guys near the top of the FedEx Cup standings, finding motivation over the next few weeks will be tough. They’re already locked into the TOUR Championship. But for Thomas, these next two weeks can solidify his spot on Team USA.

That’s why Mr. Thomas has my full attention in Memphis.