Making a name for himself
Friend of Spieth, son of PGA pro, Thomas stars in 1st major win
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was inevitable that Justin Thomas would win a major golf championship. His talent had been apparent since he was in grammar school. Sooner or later he would win a big one like his pal Jordan Spieth.
Sooner arrived on a humid Sunday at the 99th PGA Championship, when player after player, five in all, held or shared the lead until there was the 24-year-old Thomas holding it for good.
He had shot a 61in Hawaii, a 63 in the U.S. Open in June. Nothing seemed impossible for the kid who is the son and grandson of golf pros. Hewas small, 5 feet10,145 pounds, but he could hit it a mile. And he was driven.
Now, after shooting his third straight sub-70 round at Quail Hollow, a 3-under par 68, he has hit the jackpot, taking the year’s final major by two strokes with a score of 8-under 276. Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen shared second at 278.
Hideki Matsuyama, in first for a while, and Rickie Fowler, who had four straight birdies on the back nine and shot 67, were fifth at 279. Kevin Kisner, wholed Thursday, Friday and Saturday? He shot 38 on the back and 74, tumbling to a tie for seventh with Graham DeLaet.
Kisner was the last golfer who had a chance to catch Thomas. But he threeputted from 100 feet on the 16th for bogey, couldn’t birdie the17th from long range, and hit his second shot into the water and finished with a double bogey. Justin Thomas kisses the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. The victory was the fourth of the year for the 24-year-old.