Will Justin Thomas be at the Masters 2025? Valspar Championship runner-up's qualification explored

Justin Thomas finished as the runner-up position at the 2025 Valspar Championship after two bogeys in the last three holes of the final round. This ensured that Viktor Hovland would be crowned the winner. The question remains: will this runner-up finish affect Thomas’ entry into the 2025 Masters?

Let’s explore.

According to the official website of the Masters, Thomas has qualified for its 2025 edition. He has secured this qualification on three counts. Here, we must be aware that the Masters, which is a major golf championship, is based on invitations only—and Thomas has already received that invitation.

Thomas has already qualified for the Masters this year because he won the PGA Championship in 2022. According to Category 4 of the Masters invitation, a player who has won the PGA Championship within the past five years gets a direct exemption.

Thomas also gets an exemption to play at Augusta because he has been a consistent top performer on the PGA Tour. Last season, Thomas finished T14 at the Tour Championship, which makes him eligible for an invitation under the Masters’ Category 18.

Category 19 of the Masters allows the top 50 players on the final OWGR for the previous calendar year. Thomas finished 2024 ranked No. 19, meaning this category also grants him an exemption to play in the tournament.

Hence, according to the Masters qualification or invitation rules, Justin Thomas is definitely playing in the 2025 Masters.

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Justin Thomas has been searching for a PGA Tour win in the last few years

Justin Thomas could call himself unlucky after scoring two bogeys in the last three holes at the Valspar Championship on Sunday. But he is already looking forward to performing well at Augusta National Golf Club.

“I just hopefully put myself in the same position in two weeks at Augusta and finish it off better,” Justin Thomas said at the post-tournament press conference at the Valspar Championship.

Thomas has been searching for a PGA Tour event win for almost two-and-a-half years. The last time he won any tournament on the tour was the 2022 PGA Championship. Last year, Thomas played 20 PGA Tour events and finished second in only one event, at the Zozo Championship. He finished in the top 10 six times and missed the cut on four occasions.

This year, Thomas has finished as a runner-up twice out of the eight PGA Tour events he has played. Before the Valspar Championship, Thomas finished in second place at The American Express in January. He has made the cut in all eight events he has participated in so far and finished in the top 10 four times.