Hilton Head Island, South Carolina – Justin Thomas had another hurdle to prove he was back where he felt it belonged.
Thomas, who was walking to Harbortown’s 18th green in the playoffs with Andrew Novak, said he never made a length putt to win in the final hole to fill out a caddie Joe Greiner. He was 20 feet outside.
The putt was so pure that Thomas dropped the putter before the ball disappeared into the cup, causing a pleasant celebration, ending nearly three years without winning.
“It was pretty cool,” he said. “It was just as fun as I thought it was.”
Thomas played bogey-free in dry, fast conditions on courses that demanded accuracy, making a 25-foot birdie putt on hole 16, closing at 3-under 68.
Maybe the most tense moment came in the scoring trailer, seeing Novak stand on an 8-foot putt for victory. Birdie Putt was far apart, so Novak, who made his own big birdie on the 16th, joined Thomas with 68 people at 17 under 267.
In the playoffs, Novac missed within 35 feet and set the stage on Thomas. He looked around the packed grandstand on one side, the other Cariborg rang, and he felt pure joy as his family cheered him behind No. 18 Green.
“I didn’t realize I missed the victory,” Thomas was on the 18th Green, standing next to his wife Jill and five-month-old daughter Molly.
His previous victory was the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May 2022. His match slipped, missing the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in 2023, leaving the President’s Cup team a year ago.
His game returned in orderly fashion – he broke the top ten again – and only needed a victory to confirm his position among the elites.
“If that’s the case, I think it would have been missing in the end,” Thomas said. “It’s hard to say, obviously your career is very long, there’s a lot of ups and downs and a lot of stuff going on, so you don’t know what point of your career until it’s over.
“For me, at least, it felt like it was the last thing I had to do for my happiness.”
Novak was runner-up in Bermuda last fall. He was at Torrey Pines at the open Farmers Insurance. He was in the mix at Valero Texas Open. And this seemed like a breakthrough moment until Thomas refused to be rejected.
“I’m not as frustrated as I thought I would,” Novak said. “I feel like I’ve done a lot of good things, and when I feel like I’m not doing that great swing this week, I’m pretty proud to put myself in that position.
“I thought I was a little more comfortable than before. Justin just went out and won. There’s really nothing I can do about it.”
Thomas won his 16th PGA Tour and ranked sixth in the world. He also moved to the top six in the Ryder Cup standings.
Thomas and Novak were pulled away from the tight leaderboard in the middle of the round. At one point, it’s a four-way tie, with 54 hole leaders Si Woo Kim and Maverick McNealy joining.
Daniel Berger closed at 65, finishing third with McNerry (70), McKenzie Hughes (67) and Brian Herman (69).
Defending champion Scotty Schaeffler even entered the act. He began making four shots and went through eight holes. However, he ran through three birdies on a four-hole stretch around the turn and pulled within two.
Schaeffler was running through the hole when he took on a risky shot that required the Eagle to get a legitimate chance. It found water, leading to double bogeys. He still shot 70 and was tied up to his third straight top 10, eighth, while fighting in the final time.
“I think I’m really close,” Schaeffler said. “I feel like I’ve done a lot of good stuff this week. It’s just a few of the important shots I didn’t quit. It was a pretty solid week outside of that.”
Thomas won the tournament with a birdie in the playoffs. He saved his chances towards the end of the front nine when he made five straight putts starting from the fourth hole – 8 feet in par, 7 feet in birdies, 7 feet in par, 7 feet in par, and 15 feet in birdies on the eighth, he took the wood with seven irons to give himself a chance.
Novak caused trouble with the trees and fought.
He moves high enough in the world rankings – inside the top 35 – he should be the US open lock and now he needs to stay in the top 50 next month for the opening.