Justin Thomas Reflects On 2024 Masters Struggle In Absence Of Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay – ‘It Doesn’t Help Me Too Often’

Golfers and caddies often tend to forge unbreakable relationships as they work together over the years. However, there are times when they have to part ways because of unforeseen circumstances. Something similar happened with Justin Thomas and Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay. Just a week before the 2024 Masters, the golfer decided to end his partnership with the caddie, and it was a pretty hard pill to swallow.

While speaking to Alex Miceli, Justin Thomas revealed that he could have handled the situation better in the first major of the season. Despite not having Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay on his side, the American started brilliantly with a par 72 round on Thursday. However, he succumbed to the pressure and missed the cut by merely one stroke, after a poor 7 over 79 on Friday.

“Probably just didn’t handle the moment I was in as well as I should have but I knew that I was playing well. I’m very, very hard on myself.” Thomas added, “And it doesn’t help me too often. And just trying to realize that it’s in the past and I was playing really good golf, and I just needed to get over it.”

Justin Thomas and ‘Jim Bones’ Mackay were together since January 2018. Nobody would have thought their partnership would end so quickly. Although Thomas did have a new bagman, Matt Minister, on his side, his performance was not quite memorable at Augusta National.

Even the legendary golf coach Butch Harmon was shocked by Thomas’ decision to part ways with his caddie. After all, letting go of the man who had been on his side during illustrious victories such as the 2019 BMW Championship, the 2021 Players Championship, and the 2022 PGA Championship was a hard thing to digest.

Exploring Justin Thomas’ Performances At The Masters

The Louisville-born golfer made his debut at Augusta National in 2016. In his first outing, he finished T39 on the leaderboard. Justin has made nine starts in the tournament and has played all four rounds seven times.

Justin Thomas’ best performance at the Masters came back in 2020. The two-time major champion finished solo fourth on the leaderboard. In 2022, he ended up tied for the eighth rank making his second and last top-10 finish at the major to date. Moreover, this happened in the same year that he recorded his second PGA Championship victory.

But the 30-year-old American has struggled at Augusta National in his last two starts. He recorded two consecutive missed cuts at the 2023 and 2024 Masters. Interestingly, both times, he missed the opportunity to play in the final two rounds by being just one stroke short of the cutline.

Justin Thomas has surely gone through a rough form in the past two years, but he will have to overcome this phase and prove that he still has it in him.

About the author

Kunal Singh

Kunal is a golf journalist for The SportsRush. He is an avid golf fan with a huge inclination towards Rory McIlroy's drive and Phil Mickelson's short game. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and is currently pursuing a MBA in Media Management. Before joining The SportsRush, he has already penned over 1300 articles. If not covering stories on golf, you can find him brainstorming various fiction stories, composing music, and playing snooker.

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