Justin Thomas must adore Innisbrook’s back nine.
At the Valspar Championship, he’s 10 under through two rounds, with all 10 coming on that side of the course.
Thursday afternoon, Thomas teed off on No. 1 and was a pedestrian even par through nine holes. On the back nine, he made three birdies and an eagle, with no bogeys. He was two strokes behind the leader after a first-round score of 5 under.
Thomas started his second round on No. 10 and continued from there on Thursday. He birdied five of his next seven holes after a par on the first. Another 5-under 30 on the back nine was highlighted by a par on 18.
That’s 60 strokes spread out across 18 holes for those keeping score at home.
The Snake Pit, Innisbrook’s three-hole closing stretch, is famed for its toughness, but no one seems to have told Thomas how difficult it is. He’s 2 under through two rounds on holes 16, 17, and 18, including a spectacular eagle on the 225-yard par-3 17th on Friday morning. Thomas’ tee shot landed about 3 feet from the cup, allowing him to capitalize from there.
“I just have to go out and get it and execute,” Thomas said after Round 2. “I feel like the areas that I needed to improve are starting to improve, and I feel like the things that were really strong are sustaining or even improving.” “At this stage, it’s just about keeping in that focus and attempting to execute each stroke,” says the player.
Thomas had reached 12 under par and was the only leader until a double-bogey on the par-4 seventh hole late Friday morning. Due to an inaccurate tee shot into the left rough, the second shot was tough and had to be hooked around a collection of trees. Thomas made an attempt, but he ended up 34 yards short of the hole. His third shot was a little short and ended up in a greenside bunker, where he couldn’t get up-and-down for bogey.
After the round, Thomas said that his second shot on No. 7 “didn’t really need to happen.”
“I mean, I should have just attempted to hit it in the front bunker and it would have been a pretty easy up-and-down,” he added. “And those wedges, which is why I use Vokey wedges in pitching and gap wedges, are more spinnable out of the rough, which is why I utilize them. However, the rough is a touch too dry for me to get enough spin on the ball to curve it, despite the fact that I thought I could.”
Thomas is still in a good position moving into the weekend, only two shots behind current leader Adam Hadwin.
