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Cape Town - Former champion, Justin Thomas, hopes to cash in on the glorious opportunity to score some FedEx Cup points at the Tournament of Champions this weekend.
Thomas, who won this event in 2017, saw his career evolve in ways that he could never imagined subsequent to that. That season, he went on to win five tournaments, his first Major at the PGA Championship and was duly crowned Player of the Year.
While there have been flashes of brilliance post 2017, the golf fraternity cannot help but think JT has yet to really take the golfing world by storm. The 2019 campaign might just be the year he turns that talent and potential into sheer dominance.
One can't help but feel that a good start at Kapalua will set a good tone for the season to come. We suspect JT feels it too.
"It is always great to start the year here at Kapalua. This is a great great place to start the year," said Thomas, who now has a great feel for this venue, being a regular winner in the PGA Tour.
"It doesn't get any better than being in Hawaii. It is a small field, a great chance to get a lot of FedEx Cup points and get a good jump start to the year if you have either been behind or haven't played yet."
The fact that golf campaigns have become more gruelling than ever is not lost on anybody. Opportunities to rest and recharge the batteries are few and far between. Thomas thinks the past break has possibly been the most valuable since he turned professional.
Everybody is talking about the resurgence of Tiger Woods in 2019 but the real eye-catching booking is Thomas.
"It has been a nice little off season and I am excited to get going. It was very busy come the end of the 17/18 season and then the Ryder Cup and then the Asia swing for me and then Tiger's event and a couple of weeks after. It was good, Really from Tiger's event to now was great," said Thomas.
"I was home almost the entire time, I had a family vacation after that. I was home twenty straight nights, which I think is the longest I have been since I became a professional. I was pretty excited about that. I was able to get a good routine, get a good amount of rest and work on my game, work on my body. Like I said, I am just happy to be here. Crazy it has all started already."
