PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The final round was still loomed as the Saturday afternoon sun set on TPC Sowergrass and proved to be the primary characters predictions in the pending drama.
Lee Westwood, who took a two-shot lead over Bryson DeKambo in the final round: “This is one of the toughest golf courses. It is easy to divert your mind from there and lose perspective and the situation gets out of control on itself. People can come from behind. ”
Justin Thomas, who started three shots of Sunday’s final round: “It’s a Sunday of a Players. This is a huge event and the nerves are going there. This is a tournament in which I want to be a champion. I feel like I will win it, hopefully many times. ”
Thomas did just that on Sunday.
He achieved his first.
And he did it by boat-racing in the best field in golf with a 4-under-par 68, which was filled with a 5-under-par run through 9 through 12, which turned the tournament upside down And gave it to him first. He spoke of craving for the championship of the players.
Thomas, 27, outscored Westwood, who finished a shot at 13-under after shooting a dodgy final round 72. DeChambeau (71) and Brian Herman (69) finished twice in 12-under.
“I fought very hard today,” a passionate Thomas later said. “I really remained patient. Probably one of the best times of my life, green. ”
Jim “Bones'” McKay, an NBC on-course reporter whom Thomas called Ball “hog-esque.”
It was his 14th career win for Thomas and his first innings of the year. And it couldn’t have come at a more important time for him, when his life had been in turmoil since that incident at the Champions Sentry Tournament in Hawaii in January, when a TV boom. After the microphone Thomas disappeared, a small putt he picked himself up with homophobic strings.
It is sad for Thomas after that incident, whose biggest sponsor, Ralph Lauren, immediately cut him off. After this, there was a public uproar on social media.
Add to that a much worse and powerful event, which was the defeat of his grandfather, Paul, and it was almost impossible for Thomas to perform at a high level.
Then came this week. More specifically, this weekend.
Thomas found himself in contention for Sunday in the low-under-par 64 of the third-round tournament on Saturday. He then overtook Westwood on Sunday and eventually finished work. He tied the tournament’s record for the lowest score at 12-under par 36 holes.
“We’ve been doing a lot for the last few months, and losing my father, I think, greatly influenced Justin,” said ‘Thomas’ father and coach, Mike. He said, “He is not himself like last month, which is understandable.” He kept getting better every day this week.
“I told him [Sunday] When it was over, it looked like a goal from old Justin Thomas, just the ball hitting the top of it. Like what is missing. ”
What is really missing for Thomas is any element of positivity, something to smile about, after losing his grandfather, Sonny falls from the slur and seeing his close friend, Tiger Woods, in that car accident last month. I lost my life
Thomas said, “It’s a crappy couple of months.” “I have done something in my life that I never thought I would do. Losing grandpa was terrible, and playing a round of golf that worked with that, and then not playing well on it, it was just a lot, and it took me mentally a lot. It tested me mentally, physically, emotionally.
“I had to figure it out and finish it, and if I wanted to come to these tournaments and have a chance to win, I needed to suck it up and get it. ‘
Thomas mentioned that he reached out “to the people” to discuss his troubles.
He said, “I have no shame in saying that I reached out to talk to people.” I think it’s something, especially at our level, that many people probably think they are bigger than this and Are better. But some of the thoughts and things I was feeling, it was not fair to me, and I needed to do something. ‘
Thomas said his golf was suffering and everything was “snowballing”. ‘
Snowball of negative energy was melted on Sunday in 80 degree Florida heat. That superb four-hole, 5-under-par stretch did so. Therefore, also carved the stadium course par-5s at 14-under par for the week.
“I kept telling everyone on my team or my family that I was ready to do something good this year,” Thomas said. “It has been a very bad year and a lot of bad things have happened, but this is life. I would say that it would be something good. ‘
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