While one Justin in the field has been somewhat monopolizing the equipment headlines at the 2026 Cadillac Championship, another has been flying under the radar with a pretty significant switch of their own. 

Justin Rose may have signed with McLaren Golf, but Justin Thomas is also flaunting some different equipment at Trump National Doral’s Blue Monster Course. He’s not using brand-new sticks but has made a significant switch in the putter department, ditching the Scotty Cameron Phantom 5 Tour Prototype in favor of a Newport 2 GSS. It’s a switch he made provisionally during the RBC Heritage. 

“Something cool about Justin, always travels with a Newport 2,” said Drew Page, Scotty Cameron Tour rep, in a social video. “Not many people know about this with him, but (Thomas) always travels with a Newport 2. 

“… Grew up playing a Newport 2 Scotty Cameron,” Page added. “Just something he can go back to if the mallet’s not working.”

Well, for Thomas, the mallet was not working during his last start at the RBC Heritage, and the catalyst for prompting a mid-tournament switch to his backup Newport 2 GSS.

In his title defense at Harbour Town Golf Links, Thomas lost over 6.5 strokes on the greens through the first two rounds, leaving him 9-over at the halfway stage, after carding a lackluster 76 and 75 to start. 

With the Newport 2 in hand for the weekend on Hilton Head Island, Thomas gained over 1.5 strokes putting and an eight-shot improvement overall in scoring, finishing 70-66.

The 32-year-old had a revival on the greens last year, ranking inside the top-100 in Strokes Gained: Putting for the first time in 3 years. It inspired his victory at the RBC Heritage in 2025, and came off the back of a change in hosel design to help promote better hand positioning. 

“A single bend shaft, but a low single bend…it just got his hands to a point, and his eyes to a point that he became most comfortable with, where his lines were clean, and the putter sat square for him perfectly,” Page told GolfWRX last year. “The mix of that, and having his hands in the right position, just all got him into the most comfortable setup position, and then from there he was in a position of greatness, essentially.”

But, in a slow return from back surgery to start the year, Thomas has slumped back to 133rd on the greens, and thus, a new change of process on the greens. 

“It all comes down to how the putter is sitting for him right now,” Page told GolfWRX ahead of the Cadillac Championship. “(Thomas) Feels his hands and alignment are in the best spot naturally. It’s the simplicity a blade can offer as opposed to mallets, as we did some testing with other mallets over the last 10 days.”

Thomas does have fond memories of a Newport 2 blade. If he can remember far enough back, he collected his first-ever victory on the PGA Tour at the CIMB Classic using a Newport 2 Timeless GSS.

Images via Scotty Cameron.