AUGUSTA, Ga. – As officials raced to catch up at Augusta National following Thursday’s storm delay, some players were forced to complete their first round early Friday before quickly heading back out for Round 2.

Justin Thomas was one of those players who had less than 40 minutes between rounds. He grabbed a quick lunch in the locker room and met his putting coach, John Graham, on the practice green for a short session after failing to convert three birdie chances over his final five holes of his opening round.

“I met him there a little bit after 10 [a.m.], and we hit putts for probably six, seven minutes,” Thomas said. “Within a couple minutes we knew what was going on, and then, yeah, we walked to the first tee at about 10:11 and pegged it at 10:14.”

Thomas explained that his putting stroke has a tendency of becoming long and slow and admitted that at Augusta National he can become “very skittish and scared on some putts.”

“I just get a little bit shorter and quicker is what it feels like to me because when it gets a little longer,” he said. “I need to be a little more aggressive and hit a shot is what John calls it.”

Thomas got off to a slow start in the second round with bogeys on two of his first four holes. He also had a double bogey at the par-4 first, his 10th hole of the day. But Thomas rolled in seven birdie putts for a 3-under 69 and a share of the lead.