Thomas 'beyond gutted' to fall 1 spot short of playoffs

Justin Thomas lost out on a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs in devastating fashion on Sunday at the Wyndham Championship, but he won't be dwelling on it for too long.

The former World No. 1 finished one spot outside the top-70 cutline after his birdie chip on the 72nd hole hit the pin and bounced out. It marks the first time in eight seasons he's failed to qualify and snaps a seven-year streak of qualifying for the TOUR Championship.

Thomas failed to win this season and missed six cuts - three of which came at major championships. Earlier this week, he said his desire to make the United States' Ryder Cup team was affecting his performance, but he'd rather be a captain's pick for the international squad than make the playoffs.

His Ryder Cup fate remains to be seen, but Thomas is content to close the book on his TOUR campaign knowing he left everything he could out on the course.

"I know this game doesn’t owe you anything, but I feel like I fought hard enough to deserve it," he said, per the TOUR website.

He added: "I feel like I’m back to me again. Personally, I think this is harder today than winning a golf tournament. I mean if you don’t win a golf tournament, you go finish wherever you finish, you learn from it, you go to the next week. Whereas if I fail here, my season is done. So I definitely felt more nerves the last two days than I have trying to win other golf tournaments, but I felt like I handled it extremely well."

Thomas won the FedEx Cup in 2017.