JUSTIN THOMAS WINS PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Prep, patience propel Thomas to first major win
Many times throughout his young career, Justin Thomas has been his own worst enemy.
Much like his high-octane swing that makes him pound-for-pound the longest player in professional golf — he tips the scales at about 150 — Thomas doesn’t hold much back on the inside, either. He’s a demonstrative player with a big personality who rides the highs and lows with equal intensity, often to his own detriment as he quickly can’t shake bad moments.
But with each passing tournament, Thomas, 24, has tried to tone himself down and make patience the 15th club in his bag. There was no bigger test on this front than in Sunday’s volatile final round of the 99th PGA Championship. He aced it.
On an outrageous and dramatic day in the final major of the season, when five players grabbed a share of the lead and birdies and bogeys aplenty produced roars and moans whistling through the trees framing Quail Hollow, Thomas kept his wits and nerve about him to win the Wanamaker Trophy.
With a 3-under-par 68, Thomas broke from the pack to win his first major championship. With rounds of 73-66-69
68, he finished at 8 under and two shots clear of Francesco Molinari (67), Patrick Reed (67) and Louis Oosthuizen (70). Another shot back was Hideki Matsuyama (72) and Rickie Fowler (67). Kevin Kisner, who held the 54-hole lead, shot
74 and fell into a tie for seventh with Graham DeLaet (69).
“I just had an unbelievable calmness throughout the week, throughout the day,” said Thomas, who won $1.89 million and will move to No. 6 in the world. “I truly felt like I was going to win. I remember my girlfriend was supposed to fly out at about 7, and I was like, ‘You need to change your flight to later, because I don’t know, I just feel like I don’t want you to miss this. I feel like I’m going to get it done.’ I just was very confident. ...
“I just didn’t get flustered. I felt like I kind of kept everything in front of me.”
Jordan Spieth’s quest to become the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam never really got started. With rounds of 72
73-71-70, he finished 3 over. While Spieth had trouble on the greens, Thomas made a lot of big putts and didn’t three-putt once. Some of his best work came on the Green Mile, the 1,240-yard stretch of conflict on the last three holes. First, Thomas saved par with a solid 8-foot putt on the
519-yard, par-4 16th. He gave himself a huge cushion with a birdie on the 221-yard, par-3 17th, where he rifled a 7-iron to 15 feet and buried the putt, saying the 7iron was one of the best shots he’s ever hit. Aware of his three-shot lead on the 500-yard, par-4 final hole, Thomas played safe after driving into a fairway bunker, and the closing bogey proved inconsequential.
Those weren’t his only big moments. With his pace and demeanor in check from the first tee, Thomas recovered from a bogey on the first hole, where he made a huge 20-footer to keep from making a double bogey. He came right back with a birdie from 16 feet on the second. He made a 36-footer for birdie on the ninth, then added another birdie from 8 feet on the 10th when the ball hung on the lip of the cup for 10 seconds before falling into the hole.
He provided another heroic moment with a chip-in for birdie from 40 feet on the 13th, which gave him a two-shot lead.
Waiting for Thomas off the 18th green were 20-somethings who are keeping the youth movement in professional golf alive and well — Spieth, Fowler and Bud Cauley. Also waiting for him were his parents, Mike and Jani.
Thomas is a third generation PGA professional and joined seven others who won the PGA whose fathers were PGA professionals. Thomas’ father also is his coach. His grandfather, Paul, also was a PGA professional.
His parents walked every step of the way with their son this week. Thomas learned the game from his dad, the head professional at Harmony Landing Country Club outside of Louisville.
“I mean, it’s the PGA Championship. I’m a PGA member, my dad’s a PGA member, and it’s just a special moment,” Mike Thomas said after the round.
“It’s really special, it’s really cool. To win is so hard, and having my dad being a PGA member and still alive, I’m sure my phone is going to be blowing up when I turn it back on.”
It meant a great deal to Thomas, too.
“For me, the PGA definitely had a special place in my heart,” he said. “I want to win every tournament I play in. I want to try to win every major. But the end of the day, this was really cool. For this to be my first one and have my dad here, and I know Grandpa was watching at home. It’s just a great win for the family.”
The win was Thomas’ fourth of the season and his first victory on the U.S. mainland among his five career wins.
In the U.S. Open he shot 9-under-par 63 in the third round, the lowest round in major championship history in relation to par, and trailed by one with 18 to play. But an errant tee shot on the first hole knocked him for a loop and he shot 75 to finish in a tie for ninth.
But that’s where Thomas said he learned something about himself.
“Any time you can play and be there, you just learn little things. Just being patient. Just the experience of going through it, any time you can be in the final group is great,” Thomas said. “But this week it just was really my comfortability of where my game was and how I felt and the prep that I put into this week. I felt like I was ready. It just was about going out and doing it.”