Justin Thomas

Justin Thomas might finally feel his love of links golf has been reciprocated.

The two-time PGA Championship winner missed the cut by eight shots last year at the end of a summer which he described as one of his hardest.

But amid the cold and the rain at a gloomy Royal Troon, there was a warmth to Thomas’ game and a burning desire to right the wrongs of Royal Liverpool.

That he did, racing to four-under-par before bouncing back from double bogey-bogey at the start of the back nine to claim the clubhouse lead with a first-round 68.

“I played really solid, got it around. I felt like I had great control of the ball,” said Thomas.

“I hit a lot of fairways, which is a key I would say to any major, but definitely in an Open being able to control the ball coming into the greens.

“A little bit of a hiccup in the beginning of the back nine but I stayed patient and kept plugging.”

Thomas’ best Open finish to date was at Royal Portrush in 2019 when he finished tied-11th, some 12 strokes off winner Shane Lowry. He has also missed the cut on three occasions.

Yet there was no sense of dread on his walk to the first tee.

“I have yet to play a links course that I dislike or I think is bad,” said Thomas, who begins his second round at 12:53pm local time (BST) on Friday.

“I think they're all so unique and so fun. They can play so differently, obviously, with the conditions, but I think it's a proper test.

“If I had to choose one style of golf to play for the rest of my life, it would be a links course.

“It's fun. I could stand there in the middle of the fairway on 18 from 180 yards and I feel like I could hit seven different clubs, but that's the fun part of it, and I have to use a little bit of my creative side, which I like doing.”

Thomas’ first taste of The Open came at Royal Troon in 2016. But any insight on how the course might play was thrown out the window thanks to an atypical headwind.

The traditionally favourable front nine became a real test of mettle. But Thomas survived with just the one blemish on his front nine.

“It was tricky because the wind was pretty solid,” said Thomas.

“I'd say 15 to 20mph. I just had not played that front nine into the wind before, and that was wild.

“I remember trying to drive one and three in 2016 and I hit 7-iron into one today, and I hit a 3-wood up there on three to have to wedge in.

“It just was very, very different. But it just was all very typical of an Open, just trying to make the best out of the conditions that you have.”

There wasn’t much mercy on the back nine either. Thomas dropped back to one-under before birdies on the final two holes to edge clear of the cluster of players on two-under.

With the trouble of Hoylake now firmly in the rearview mirror, it could be about time to change his frustrating Open record.

“I feel like everything has been turning the right way, and I've been working on the right things,” he added.

“I just haven't really had much to show for it. That's just how this game works sometimes.

“But I know that I'm close the way it is, and I'm just going to keep playing and not play for results, just play for my game and it'll take care of itself.”