Justin Thomas Moves Into Truist Championship Contention Following Putter Change Inspired By Fellow Pro
The two-time Major winner is in contention going into the weekend at Quail Hollow, with a putter change inspired by Cameron Young helping Thomas on the greens
Equipment changes are a regular occurrence in the professional game, and Justin Thomas is the most recent player to make a swap in the bag.
Over the last few tournaments, the two-time Major winner has been seen with a variety of putters in-play, with his most recent expedition drawing inspiration from a fellow Ryder Cup teammate.
Thomas during the first round of the Truist Championship
Cameron Young is one of the most in-form players in the world, claiming The Players Championship in March, as well as the Cadillac Championship last week.
Known for his ball striking, one of the big reasons for his recent success has been down to the putter, with Thomas revealing at this week's Truist Championship that he asked Scotty Cameron reps to build an exact replica of Young's flatstick.
Speaking after his three-under 68 on Friday, Thomas revealed he is "using a totally new putter this week," adding "I literally texted Cameron's (Young) guys and said, 'just give me Cam's putter.'
Young during the Cadillac Championship
"I've been watching him make putts for a pretty good amount of time now, and I've always thought it looks really good, so I was like, I want Cam Young's putter.
"Coincidentally, I get paired with him this week and we had the exact same shoes on yesterday, and it's like, I promise I'm not trying to copy everything you do... but I'm maybe trying to copy everything you do.
"It's a similar putter to what I used in the past, in terms of toe hang and what I felt, but yeah, it's just, for me, it's just so hard to putt well if you don't have confidence; and so hard to have confidence unless you're seeing it go in more often.
"So I really, really worked hard Monday through Wednesday on my speed and start line and everything to where I just felt like I was in a better place and more freed up when I was putting."
Thomas used two different Scotty Cameron putters during the Cadillac Championship
Throughout 2026 on the PGA Tour, Thomas ranks 152nd for Strokes Gained: Putting, losing -0.605 shots. In fact, the American is also outside the top 100 for Total Putting, Putting Average, Overall Putting Average and Putts Per Round.
For this week, at Quail Hollow Club, Thomas has seen significant improvements, as he ranked 19th in SG: Putting on Thursday and sixth on Friday.
Sitting seven-under, Thomas is tied third and two back of Sungjae Im going into the weekend, while Young is T12th at four-under, five back of leader, Im.
In terms of the putter that both men are using, it's a Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5R Tour Prototype, which Young put in-play at the start of 2025.
Following the move to the Phantom 9.5R, he went from 145th in SG: Putting in 2024 to seventh in 2025.
