Dream end to season for Justin
AS IF his victory in the USPGA Championship last month was not enough to take Justin Thomas out of the shadow of his great friend Jordan Spieth, he completed the job yesterday by beating the Texan to the FedEx Cup.
Here were two pals who have been playing matches against one another since they were 13 years old playing once more, with the notable difference being this one was a shootout for $10million.
The destiny of the cup went back and forth in an exciting finale but it was Thomas who had the final word to end all doubt he is the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
The 24-year-old didn’t have things all his own way, mind. He might have been the overall winner at the end of the four-tournament FedEx Cup play-off series but the other big prize on offer yesterday — the season-ending Tour Championship — went to the exciting American rookie Xander Shauffele, who beat Thomas by one stroke.
Thomas was happy enough, as you can imagine. ‘To win five times this season including a major makes this a year beyond my wildest dreams,’ he said.
The day had begun with Paul Casey holding a two-shot lead and in position to claim both titles and a cool $11.5m payday, but the Englishman’s final-round frailties cruelly revealed themselves once more.
It would have been hard enough trying to win a regular event given he hasn’t managed it in America since the Houston Open in 2009, but the pressure of all the unparalleled riches on top clearly proved too much. His only birdie all day came at the par-five 18th when it was way too late, as he finished up with a disappointing 73 for fifth place.
With Casey dropping three shots on the front nine to fall from contention, so the FedEx Cup came down to the two childhood pals. Did Spieth and Thomas ever dream that one day they would play a match with so much money at stake? Knowing these two with their seemingly limitless ambition and talent, they probably did.
It was suitably exciting, and so close for an hour that with each birdie or bogey either way the projected destination of the trophy changed hands.
It was Spieth who made the early move at East Lake, near Atlanta, with a cluster of birdies and an eagle at the 10th. He had begun the day hopelessly out of position at eight off the pace set by Casey but he never gives up, and as the Englishman stumbled so the Open Champion went in the opposite direction.
But a bogey at the 15th opened the door to his great rival and Thomas gleefully accepted the invitation with an enormously impressive finish.
Thomas struggled with his swing at times on the front nine but class players always find a way and he hit two beautiful approach shots to the 16th and 17th holes for birdies to claim his prize.
Naturally, Spieth had no complaints. ‘You want the season-long prize to hopefully end up in the hands of the most deserving player and Justin has certainly been that, with his five wins including a major,’ he said.
The conveyor belt of great young American talent seemingly has no end as Schauffele took his place in the spotlight with a gutsy finish to claim a prestigious trophy of his own.
Needing to birdie the par-five 18th, he hit two marvellous shots to the front of the green, before chipping to 18 inches. With his hands trembling, he gave himself a fright with the tiddler as it looked like it might lip out before falling below ground.
Last year, Schauffele won $149,000 on the Web Tour. Yesterday, he banked more than $3.5m for the tournament win and FedEx Cup third place.