When you've been as good as Justin Thomas, expectations can be heightened | D'Angelo

TULSA, Okla. — Most of Justin Thomas' peers gladly would accept the underachiever label when it comes to winning major championships if they had his credentials less than a decade into their careers.

Thomas reached the pinnacle of the sport before his 25th birthday, winning a major at the 2017 PGA Championship by holding off three golfers, two —  Francesco Molinari and Louis Oosthuizen — with about 10 more years' experience than Thomas.

But early success — Thomas won eight times on tour before his 25th birthday — brings high expectations. And high expectations can lead to unnecessary internal pressure.

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Thomas acknowledges he is feeling that pressure to win a second major. Never mind he's on track for a Hall of Fame career with 14 PGA Tour wins, including the 2021 Players Championship and the 2017 FedEx Cup title to go along with his one major. But he says something stirs internally when entering a major, and he knows that is coming from those expectations.

"It's a lot harder to get the second than I thought it would be, internally," Thomas said this week. "Not as much pressure externally, but just on me. When you win one to get to where you want to go, you have to win the next one. And when you get in a little bit of a drought, it can be frustrating."

Halfway through the PGA Championship, Thomas, who lives in Jupiter, finds himself in a position to end that drought. Drought, though, is a relative term considering just three players in the field have more wins on tour than Thomas.

Justin Thomas makes move to PGA leaderboard

Thomas passed first-round leader and fellow Jupiter resident Rory McIlroy during Friday's early wave, shooting his second consecutive 67 for a 6-under 134 entering the weekend. The day ended with Thomas three shots behind leader Will Zalatoris, who shot a bogey-free 65 Friday.

Thomas completed his round with a one-shot lead. He put together a cleaner round (one bogey) Friday in more challenging conditions with stronger winds early in the day as a cold front approached.

"Although I played solid yesterday, I played really, really well today," Thomas said after his Friday round. "I stayed very patient, tried to get in my own little world and get in a zone, and just tried to execute each shot the best I could."

Thomas was brutally honest when asked last month at the Masters whether he thought he's underachieved in majors with one win and five top 10 finishes in 25 starts.

"I know I have,” he said. "I have not even close to performed well in my entire career in majors."

And the week of another major, the subject was raised once again. But this time Thomas was able to put a bit more perspective on his accomplishments.

"I'm just trying to stay patient and understand that a lot of great players with unbelievable Hall of Fame-like careers, multiple major winners, have not won one until they are 30 or 35," said Thomas, who still is 11 months shy of his 30th birthday. "You never know. I could win one, two, three, four majors in a year. I just have to be patient and hope it happens soon rather than later."

Thomas certainly is capable of collecting championship cups and trophies and jugs and green jackets. He has at least one tour title each of the past six seasons and won five times in 2016-17, the year he captured the Wanamaker Trophy, FedEx Cup and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year — and planted the root of those heightened expectations.

He reached No. 1 in the world rankings for the first time the next season. He currently is No. 9.

Thomas climbed the leaderboard Friday on the strength of his irons. He was fourth in strokes gained approaching the green, after his round. He hit 16 greens. The one that defined his day was a 6-iron on No. 5 that he landed pin high from 219 yards. He then finished it by rolling in a 23-foot putt for one of his four birdies.

His only blemish came on the par-3 No. 14 when he put his tee shot into the bunker. Two of Thomas' three bogeys in the first two rounds were on par 3s.

Thomas' confidence is high with seven top 10s in 12 events this season, including a tie for eighth at the Masters. The equals his top 10s from last season in 23 starts. And at the very least, he appears headed for another top 10 in a major.

Of course, that would not be enough.

"I feel like I'm playing well, (but) we're halfway through so it's still a long way from home," Thomas said. "But I'm very, very pleased with where everything is at and the frame of mind and state of mind that I'm in.

"Just need to try to maintain that the best that I can and keep trying to play good golf."

Tom D'Angelo is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Florida Network. You can reach him at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

PGA Championship

Third round, Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma

10 a.m., ESPN; 1 p.m., CBS

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Justin Thomas chasing elusive second major at PGA Championship