Thomas wins, takes over No. 1
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In a city where Elvis Presley called home, Justin Thomas returned to being the king of the golf world.
Thomas reclaimed the title of World No. 1, breaking out of a logjam with birdies at 15 and 16 to win the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational by three strokes over Brooks Koepka, Daniel Berger, Tom Lewis and Phil Mickelson.
“It means a lot, especially with how I did it coming from behind,” Thomas said.
Thomas, who started the day trailing by four strokes, made birdies at two of the first three holes at TPC Southwind en route to shooting 5-under 65 for a 72hole total of 13-under 267.
Thomas grabbed a share of the lead at the ninth with a 21-foot birdie putt, but his lone bogey of the day at 12 created a five-way tie atop the leaderboard.
Berger, who made a bogey at 18, finished with 65. Englishman Tom Lewis backed up a 61 with a 66 on Sunday. With his finish, Berger earned a spot into the U.S. Open in September.
Thomas pulled in front with a birdie at 15 from 6 feet after catching a good break after snap-hooking a 5-wood off tee. He tacked on a short birdie putt at the par-5 16th.
Koepka, who has struggled all season and suggested he potentially might need another stem-cell surgery to his surgically repaired left knee, made a costly bogey at 16 when he pitched long but closed to within one stroke by canning a 35-foot birdie putt at 17. Koepka, who closed with 69, still had a chance at the final hole, but he tugged his tee shot into the water and made double bogey.
Thomas played alongside Phil Mickelson in the final round, and had Mickelson’s caddie of 25 years, Jim “Bones” Mackay, on his bag this weekend as a fill-in for Jimmy Johnson, who suffered dizziness two weeks ago at the Memorial. It was a reunion of sorts for Mickelson and Mackay, who won 42 times together before parting ways in 2017, following the Memphis Tour stop. Mackay
has become an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel but returned to active duty caddying last month for Matthew Fitzpatrick for two weeks and is expected to work for Thomas at the PGA Championship this week.
“We’re getting more comfortable every day,” Thomas said.
Thomas already had notched victories at the CJ Cup in Korea and the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii this season. He held a threestroke lead with three holes to go at the Workday Charity Open last month but lost in a playoff. He proved there was little scar tissue from that defeat. Thomas became the third-youngest player to win 13 times on the tour behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Spaniard Jon Rahm, who finished T-54, had a short two-week reign as World No. 1. Thomas previously held the distinction for a four-week stretch in 2018.