Connect with us

Tour News

Justin Thomas honors father with PGA Championship win

Published

on

It’s fair to say that the head professional at Harmony Landing, outside Louisville, is smiling from ear to ear today. Mike Thomas had a front-row seat as his son, Justin Thomas, rebounded from disappointment at Erin Hills’ U.S. Open in June to win his first major championship on Sunday in North Carolina.

Facing the Green Mile of disaster over Quail Hollow’s closing holes, Thomas played them calmly at even par and closed out a two-stroke win. Things got tense down that stretch, as third-round leader Kevin Kisner closed within a single shot of Thomas. Unfortunately for the South Carolina native, the closing triumvirate proved to be his undoing for the second consecutive day. He played them 3-over par and dropped to a tie for 7th at four-under.

The watery 17th hole makes the knees of common men shake in fear and uncertainty. Thomas stroked his iron to the center of the green, 15 feet from the hole. His aim was true, the ball used the entire circumference of the cup, and his lead was doubled. Thomas played the 18th conservatively, making bogey and finishing at 8-under. Ahead of him, Francesco Molinari, Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen finished at 6-under in a tie for the second spot.

Thomas began the final round bogey-birdie-bogey. He settled down, calmed his nerves, and made two more birdies, on Nos. 7 and 9 to finish the outward half at 1-under. He made birdie at the 10th, but truly joined the chase with a mighty chip-in for birdie on the par-four 13th. He had his share of breaks, including a sublime bounce off a tree to the middle of the fairway. As they say, when it’s your time, the breaks fall your way.

The most disappointed player in the field might have been Francesco Molinari. Despite a four-birdies-in-five-holes stretch on the back nine, Molinari had bogeys on the par-five 10th and the diabolical 16th. Those two miscues cost him a chance at the title. Reed came to No. 18 at 7-under needing a birdie to close the gap. His drive found a fairway bunker, and the opportunity was lost. Oosthuizen had the same type of up-and-down round as his compatriots. He made a few birdies (Nos. 7 and 18), a spectacular eagle (No. 15) and a trio of bogeys.

Ever since his amateur work at the University of Alabama and the U.S. Walker Cup Team, great things have been predicted for Thomas. His four PGA Tour wins suggested that a major title was not far off, but his ability to close the deal at Erin Hills raised questions about his composure under the strain of major-championship pressure. Well, here’s to you, Justin Thomas, major champion, with much more to come.

Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

on

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 3M Open

Published

on

GolfWRX is live from the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities!

Back from our overseas journey, we have plenty for you to digest from Minnesota, including WITBs and in-hand looks at some pretty impressive putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

Continue Reading

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Open Championship

Published

on

GolfWRX was live this week across the pond for The Open Championship! Check out links to all our galleries from Royal Portrush below.

General Albums

Pullout Albums

Continue Reading

WITB

Facebook

Trending