ATLANTA – On Thursday, Justin Thomas said this year at East Lake would be different. As predictions go, he’s off to a good start.
Thomas opened with a 4-under 66 to gain ground in the strokes-based event that seeds players based on their position on the playoff points list. Dustin Johnson began the finale as the points leader at 10 under, while Thomas started third at 7 under.
“I tried not to look at leaderboards today. I just tried to play golf and get in my own little world and not really worry about what was going on and what those guys were doing or what the guys in front of me were doing,” said Thomas, now 11 under, trailing Johnson and Rahm by two.