(Reuters) – Justin Thomas on Tuesday weighed into the debate over whether some courses on the PGA Tour are challenging enough, saying weather conditions are the biggest factor in scoring, not decisions made by tournament officials.
World number one Jon Rahm raised eyebrows last week when he lambasted the setup at the La Quinta Country Club for turning the American Express into what he called a “putting contest” in an expletive-laden rant that was caught on video.
Rahm doubled down on Tuesday, saying that he does not appreciate any course where missing the fairway “means absolutely nothing”.
Five players finished 20-under par or better at the American Express and three players were 32-under or better at Kapalua earlier this month.
“It’s frustrating to me because people were going crazy about Kapalua and they’re saying the golf course setup is so easy,” Thomas told reporters ahead of the Farmers Insurance Open.
“Look, I don’t know how many times I have to say it but if you give us soft greens and no wind, we are going to shoot nothing.”
Mother Nature ultimately has the final say in how challenging a course proves to be, he said.
“If we get a little wind one day and the greens get even firmer and faster, the scores are going to be higher,” he said.
“If we get some rain and they soften up and there’s no wind, it’s going to be lower, that’s just the way that it is.
“It’s not like the Tour’s setting up the course every day saying, ‘We want 18 under to win this week.'”
The former world number one said with a laugh that while he liked to think he would prefer a harder golf course, he had had a lot of success on the easier ones.
“If my life depended on it and I had to win a golf tournament, I’d probably choose TPC Kuala Lumpur, but other than that, it is what it is and you have to make the best out of wherever you are,” he said.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Toby Davis)
