Justin Thomas’ agonizing wait for a victory goes on, but the two-time major champion was back close to top form at the Zozo Championship in Japan over the weekend.

One shot in particular in Saturday’s third round left fans stunned at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, although it is not exactly clear if it was the result of luck or judgment.

In truth, it was probably a bit of both. Thomas flared his drive out to the right at the par-four fourth, giving him tree trouble and a pond to navigate with his approach.

Low-hanging branches meant Thomas could not take the aerial route, so he cracked a stinger low beneath the tree, headed right towards the water hazard. The camera immediately turned to Thomas as he said “skip, skip”, pleading for the ball to act like a skimming stone and bounce to safety on the fairway.

He got his wish with the ball taking a big hop off the surface layer of the water and onto terra firma, setting up a relatively straightforward up-and-down for a four – which he duly tidied up for the most eventful of pars.

“Give him the trophy now”, one of the announcers said on the broadcast, with Thomas in second place and within touching distance of leader Nico Echavarria.

But this golden opportunity to end a two-year winless streak passed the 31-year-old by on Sunday. He has not tasted glory since winning the PGA Championship for a second time in May 2022, suffering a huge dip in form.

His performance in Japan was further evidence of him returning towards the peak of his powers, but it was not enough to get his hands on the trophy. Thomas finished in a tie for second place alongside Mac Greyserman in Inzai, one shot adrift of Echavarria.

Thomas started his final round two shots back from the leader, but a four-under-par final round was not enough to rein in the Colombian. The Kentucky native gave himself plenty of chances, but he burned the edge of the cup numerous times throughout his final round.

“It’s a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” Thomas said. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament. I gave myself a chance.”

“Hit so many good putts today that just didn’t go in. That’s the difference. I needed some of those ones that burned the edge to fall.

“I did a lot of things really well. The stuff I’ve been working on, everything I’ve been doing is obviously the right stuff and I’m still going the right direction. Just got to keep trying to put myself in contention and right there as often as I can.

“Just kind of hope for a law of averages thing, eventually you end up getting it done, but it’s just about putting yourself there more.”