Justin Thomas has won his third PGA Tour title for the season after ending the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational with five-under 65.
The win also moved him up the OWGR, placing him at number 1, ending the short reign of Spanish man, Jon Rahm, at the top. Brooks Koepka, who won the tournament last year, finished three shots behind Thomas, together with Daniel Berger, Tom Lewis, and Phil Mickelson.
Thomas started the day well behind in fifth place, with a host of stars ahead of him and Brendan Todd at the lead. He managed to edge his way forward, making birdies at the second, third, seventh, and ninth hole, securing his lead, even though Koepka was at his neck all through the game. He made a bogey at the 12th hole, allowing Koepka, Lewis, and Berger to join him at the lead.
Koepka made a birdie at the 13th hole that saw him overtake the rest. Thomas surged forward and stole the lead again, making birdies at the 15th and 16th hole. The two golfers continued their struggle up till the 18th hole where Koepka’s shot landed in the water for a double bogey. Thomas then went to claim his 13th PGA Tour title, becoming the third youngest person to do so behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
Speaking after his win on Sunday, Thomas commented on how it felt to come from behind to win. He said, “It means a lot, especially with how I felt like I did it. In the past, I struggled with coming from behind. I got wrapped up in how far I was behind and how many people.”
He also mentioned how mistakes he made three weeks ago helped him forward this time. Three weeks ago, he misused his three-shot lead at the Workday Charity Open, eventually losing out on a playoff with Collin Morikawa. In his words, “I feel like I learned a lot from that. I basically just told myself to shut up and figure out what you’re doing because I could lose this tournament just as easily as I won it.”
Written by: Leon Osamor
