'Give me Cam's putter': Justin Thomas mimics Young to contend at Truist

Frustrated by his putting, Justin Thomas had a simple request for his Titleist rep ahead of this week’s Truist Championship:

“Just give me Cam’s putter.”

Thomas had seen Cameron Young lean on his Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R Tour Prototype while winning twice this year and ascending to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Meanwhile, Thomas ranks No. 152 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting since returning from November back surgery in early March, better than only a dozen other guys, and had recently switched to his backup Newport 2 GSS after a frustrating week with his Phantom 5.5 at the Masters.

While Thomas’ T-23 at the Cadillac Championship marked his fourth finish of T-41 or better in six starts this season, he continued to struggle on the greens, losing nearly six shots for the week; only five players lost more.

“I played really well last week, I just putted horrifically,” Thomas said. “I had a very tough time on those greens. But I played really, really, really well at Augusta, and I just had zero to show for it. I drove it well, I felt like I hit a lot of good iron shots, just was kind of one of those weeks where I couldn't get anything going, couldn't make that putt or get that ball up-and-down that I needed to, either to keep momentum or get momentum. And that stuff just kind of – it wears.”

Thomas received his new putter on Monday, then discovered that he was grouped with Young for the first two rounds.

“We had the exact same shoes on yesterday, and it's like, ‘I promise I'm not trying to copy everything you do, but I'm maybe trying to copy everything you do,’” Thomas said. “It’s a similar putter to what I used in the past, in terms of toe hang and what I felt. But yeah, for me, it's just so hard to putt well if you don't have confidence, and it’s so hard to have confidence unless you're seeing it go in more often. So, I really, really worked hard Monday through Wednesday on my speed and start line and everything to where I just felt like I was in a better place and more freed up when I was putting.”

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Thomas ranks top 10 so far this week in strokes gained putting, as he’s opened the Truist with rounds of 67-68, sitting 7 under and only two shots off Sungjae Im’s early second-round lead. Two of his four birdies on Friday came from outside of 12 feet.