Justin Thomas wins finale at Firestone with ease
AKRON, OHIO — Justin Thomas took all the drama out of the final World Golf Championship at Firestone, never letting anyone closer than two shots and closing with a 1-under 69 to win the Bridgestone Invitational for his third PGA Tour title this season.
Sweeter than capturing his first World Golf Championship was the sight behind the 18th green Sunday.
His grandparents, Paul and Phyllis Thomas, watched him win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Paul Thomas was a career club professional and played at Firestone in the 1960 PGA Championship, missing the 54-hole cut. His son, Mike Thomas, also is a career club pro in Kentucky and a former PGA of America board member.
“I got a little choked up when I saw grandma and grandpa over there,” Thomas said. “It’s really cool. They don’t get to come out very often.”
They saw a one-man show.
Playing in the final group with Rory McIlroy, the 25-year-old Thomas made only two birdies. That was all he needed on a day when just about everyone within range was making all the mistakes.
McIlroy finished the back nine with consecutive bogeys and never recovered.
Tiger Woods, an eight-time winner at Firestone, started 11 shots behind and figured he would go out with a bang by playing aggressively. He turned in a dud, and a birdie on the 18th hole gave him another 73 to leave him 15 shots behind.
Thomas had gone five months since his last victory, a playoff win at the Honda Classic. Now he heads to St. Louis next week for the PGA Championship, where he will try to join Woods as the only players to win back-to-back in stroke play. Woods did it twice.
Thomas finished at 15-under 265 for a four-shot victory over Kyle Stanley, who closed with a 68.
Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, had a 64 and shared third with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark, who also had a 64.
U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka had a 67 to finish fifth, while McIlroy (73) finished in a tie for sixth.
Firestone has held tour events since the Rubber City Open in 1954. The World Series of Golf began in 1962, and it became an official PGA Tour event in 1976.
Bridgestone shifted its title sponsorship to the PGA Tour Champions, which will bring its Senior Players Championship to Firestone next year. The World Golf Championship instead will move to Memphis, Tennessee.
LPGA TOUR
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, ENGLAND — Georgia Hall of England reeled in long-time leader Pornanong Phatlum in a final-round duel at Royal Lytham to win the Women’s British Open for her first major title on Sunday.
Roared on by the large galleries in her home country, the 22-year-old Hall only took the lead for the first time after a 20-foot putt for birdie at the 16th hole and stayed steady to post 5-under 67.
After tapping in for a bogey — her first of the day — at No. 18 that secured a two-shot victory over Pornanong (70), Hall hugged her playing partner from Thailand before being lifted off her feet by her caddie, father Wayne.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
BLAINE, MINN. — Kenny Perry won the 3M Championship one last time Sunday, closing with a 3-under 69 for a threestroke victory in the PGA Tour Champions event that is being replaced by the PGA Tour’s 3M Open.
Also the 2014 and 2015 winner at TPC Twin Cities, the 57-year-old Perry matched Hale Irwin’s tournament record of three victories in the final edition of the event that started in 1993 at Bunker Hills.
Five shots ahead after rounds of 66 and 60, Perry finished at 21-under 195. Wes Short Jr. was second after a 63.