Thomas sinks to new low — 253 for 72 holes — at Sony
Challenged only by the record book, Justin Thomas won the Sony Open in Honolulu on Sunday with the lowest 72-hole score in PGA Tour history.
Thomas capped off his wonderful week at Waialae that began with a 59 with his second straight victory. His two-putt birdie from 60 feet on the par-5 18th finished a 5-under-par 65 to set the record at 253.
Tommy Armour III shot 254 at the 2003 Texas Open.
“It’s been an unbelievable week. Unforgettable,” Thomas said. Make that two weeks. The 23-year-old from Kentucky won the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua last week by three shots, then destroyed the full field at the Sony Open to win by seven shots. Thomas is the first player since Tiger Woods in 2009 (Buick Open and Bridgestone Invitational) to win back-to-back weeks by three shots or more.
“I felt like I was trying to win a tournament for second place,” Jordan Spieth said, summing up the helpless feeling of everyone.
That honor went to Justin Rose, who closed with a 64 to finish alone in second. Spieth shot a 63 to finish third.
The first full-field event of the year on the PGA Tour was a oneman show.
Thomas began the final round with a sevenshot lead, and no one got closer than five shots all day. His only nervous moment was an 8-foot par putt on the sixth hole when he was five shots ahead. He made that, and the rest of the day was a Pacific breeze.
Thomas joined Ernie Els in 2003 as the only players to sweep Hawaii. Thomas was 49 under par for his two weeks, compared with Els at 47 under.
Thomas moved to No. 8 in the world. European Tour: Graeme Storm beat Rory McIlroy on the third playoff hole in the SA Open in Johannesburg for his second European Tour title.
After the 251st-ranked Storm tapped in for a par, the second-ranked McIlroy slid his par putt wide from 7 feet on their fourth visit to the 18th hole at Glendower Golf Club. Storm, who also won the 2007 French Open, closed with a 1under 71 to match McIlroy (68) at 18-under 270.
McIlroy said he will have tests on his back Monday to make sure he is fit enough to play in Abu Dhabi without further damage. Champions Tour: Woody Austin completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Diamond Resorts Invitational, and former A’s pitcher Mark Mulder took the celebrity title in Orlando.
Austin closed with a 6-under 66 on the Four Seasons Resort’s Tranquilo course, earning 31 points in the modified Stableford scoring system to finish the threeround event at 104 — eight points ahead of second-place Joe Durant. Austin opened with an 11-under 59.
Mulder rallied to top the celebrity division, scoring 30 points in a 67 to finish with 77 points.
Lexi Thompson was 11th with 83 points to top the four LPGA Tour players in the pro field.