Si Woo Kim sinks to 75- Justin Thomas ends victory drought with RBC Heritage title after long putt in playoff
Walking up to the 18th green, Justin Thomas noted to his caddie that he’d never made a lengthy putt to win a tournament on the PGA Tour. Then he stepped up and buried a 21-foot birdie putt to win the RBC Heritage on Sunday over Andrew Novak for his 16th Tour title.
That was as fun as I thought it would be,” Thomas said.
The 31-year-old native of Kentucky is a winner again for the first in two years, 10 months and 29 days since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Thomas shot a bogey-free final-round 3-under 68 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for a 72-hole total of 17-under 267.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed winning,” he said.
Thomas shot a bogey-free final-round 3-under 68 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for a 72-hole total of 17-under 267.
Novak chipped-in from the fringe at No. 6 for birdie to take the solo lead at 16 under but gave it right back with a bogey at seven. He tied Thomas again with a birdie at No. 9. He holed a birdie at No. 16 to tie Thomas but missed an 8-foot birdie putt at 18 for the win.
“Justin just went out and won it,” Novak said. “There’s nothing you can really do about it.”
Thomas won for the first time since becoming a father and joined Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in having at least 16 victories and two majors before the age of 32.
Thomas finished third in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week, a vast improvement over his putting last season. After ranking No. 174 last season, Thomas spent time with Xander Schauffele working on his putting technique. The 3-hour session has paid dividends. Thomas has improved to 40th this season.According to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, Thomas joked, “I may get an invoice in my locker.”
Thomas had four top-3 finishes, including two runner-up finishes this season. “Everyone wants it bad but he has that chip on his shoulder,” CBS Sports’s Trevor Immelman said.
And now the victory drought is over. “Winning is hard,” Thomas said. “It’s really, really hard.”
