Thomas prevails in playoff for fifth victory this year
Justin Thomas beat Australia’s Marc Leishman on the second playoff hole Sunday to win the inaugural CJ Cup in Jeju, South Korea, and cap his breakout year on the PGA Tour.
Thomas sealed his fifth PGA title in 2017 — and his first of the new 2017-18 PGA season — when he birdied the second extra hole and Leishman made bogey after finding the water.
The pair went to a sudden-death playoff after completing the first U.S. PGA Tour regular-season event in South Korea tied at 9-under 279.
Thomas, who shared the overnight lead with Scott Brown, fell behind when he had a double bogey on the 550-yard par-5 No. 3 hole.
“I just kept telling myself it was a bad golf swing,” Thomas said.
Thomas regained the lead and looked set for the win in regulation until he bogeyed No. 17, a 195-yard par-3 hole. But he made amends with a birdie at the last to join Leishman in the playoff.
“I really played some great golf after the third hole but it’s just such a long day with these conditions,” said Thomas, who added he is looking forward to some time off.
“I’m so excited to not do anything,” Thomas said.
“I officially have nothing left in the tank at this moment.”
Leishman looked to have slipped out of contention when he bogeyed the fifth, seventh and eighth holes to tumble down the leaderboard.
But he birdied No. 9, No. 12 and No. 14 to join Thomas at 9-under then finished bogey-birdie to get in the playoff.
PGA Tour Champions: Bernhard Langer made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole to win the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Va. Langer beat Scott Verplank by one shot in the first event of the PGA Tour Champions’ Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs.
The victory was Langer’s sixth this season.
European Tour: Tournament host Sergio Garcia won the Andalucia Valderrama Masters in Sotogrande, Spain, after shooting 4-under 67 in the final round to finish at 12-under 272 — one stroke ahead of Joost Luiten of the Netherlands.
It was the Spaniard’s sixth win on home soil.
LPGA Tour: Eun-Hee Ji shot a 7-under 65 to win the Taiwan Championship in Taipei for her first LPGA title since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open. Ji finished at 17-under 271, six strokes ahead of Lydia Ko, who also closed with a 65.