Jordan Spieth backs Thomas for the top

• Jordan Spieth backs good friend Justin Thomas for the top
• “I think it’s potentially floodgates opening,” said Spieth
• Thomas won in Hawaii to secure his third PGA Tour title

Jordan Spieth has backed his friend Justin Thomas to reach the top after he secured his third PGA Tour title at the SBS Tournament of Champions.

Thomas finished three shots clear of Hideki Matsuyama at Kapalua after three rounds of 67 and a final round 69 and, now up to No.12 in the world, Spieth wouldn’t be at all surprised to see a major title in the offing.

“I think it’s potentially floodgates opening” – Jordan Spieth

“Yeah, I think it’s potentially floodgates opening,” he said. “The guy hits it forever. He’s got a really, really nifty short game. He manages the course well.

Read more -> Jordan Spieth exorcises Augusta demons

“He used to hit more drivers and he’s dialing back a bit now and hitting like a trusty 2-iron out there that he can still hit 285 yards, you know, with a little bit of roll.

“He’s not making many bogeys. So really excited for him. It’s awesome. It’s awesome to see.”

The 23-year-old’s other two PGA Tour titles have come at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia in 2015 and 2016 and Thomas admitted that, for a time, he grew frustrated at seeing his peers’ success while he struggled to breakthrough.

“It was maybe a little frustrating sometimes seeing some friends and peers my age do well” – Justin Thomas

“I think it drove me a lot,” he said. “It’s weird, I mean, some of my good friends, I wasn’t mad, but it was maybe a little frustrating sometimes seeing some friends and peers my age do well.

Read more -> Jordan Spieth vows to speed up his pace of play

“Not because I wasn’t cheering for them because I feel like I was as good as them. It’s just immature of me. I mean, the fact of the matter is, over the course of a long career, we’re going to beat each other. That’s just how it is.

“I think now, I feel so much more comfortable. I really do. I think that that win in Malaysia, not the first one, but this last one, was huge, because I never played with a lead like that before.”

And what of Spieth’s comments about it being the floodgates opening?

“I hope so,” he added. “I think like I was saying, it’s just being more comfortable. It’s now when I get in that situation, I more so expect to win.”

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