Thomas lives on edge and rallies to win Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The resilience it takes to get through a nerve-jangling Sunday at Sawgrass was nothing compared with what Justin Thomas had been through already this year.

An otherwise impeccable start to his career on and off the course came under scrutiny in January with a slip of the tongue when he muttered an anti-gay slur under his breath that cost him one sponsor and led another to publicly reprimand him. Tougher still was the death last month of his grandfather, Paul, part of the legacy of golf pros in the Thomas family.

He found the right time to deliver a gem.

Thomas took on every shot in The Players Championship, right down to the 5-wood that rode the edge of the lake down the left side of the 18th fairway, and closed with a 4-under 68 for a oneshot victory over Lee Westwood.

He won for the seventh straight year, his 14th career title, and became only the fourth player to win a major, The Players Championship, the FedEx Cup and a World Golf Championship.

“It’s been a crappy couple months. I’ve had stuff happen in my life I never thought I’d have happen,” Thomas said. “Losing grandpa was terrible, and having to play a round of golf dealing with that, and then on top of that not playing well, it just was a lot, and it took a lot on me mentally.

“This week was huge to win a big championship like this in front of fans again, which is incredible. It tested me mentally, physically, emotionally, and I’m very proud of myself for getting it done.”

Oregon State beats No. 23 Colorado for first Pac-12 title

LAS VEGAS — Maurice Calloo gave Oregon State an unexpected lift with 15 points and the Beavers won their first conference tournament title, holding off No. 23 Colorado 70-68 in the Pac-12 championship game Saturday night.

Needing three wins in three days to end a fouryear NCAA Tournament drought, the Beavers (17-12) built confidence with each step along The Strip.

Oregon State opened it first conference title game in 33 years with a flurry of 3-pointers and withstood a late push by Colorado (22-8) to become the first Pac-10/12 team to win the conference title after being picked to finish last.

Calloo helped the Beavers overcome leading scorer Ethan Thompson’s foul trouble, making 6 of 11 shots after scoring 10 points the eight previous games combined.