Say hello to the new front-runner for PGA Tour Player Of The Year.
Justin Thomas was unstoppable Monday in Boston, he broke out of a three-man duel with his close pal Jordan Spieth and the other 54-hole leader — Marc Leishman.
Thomas, the PGA Champion, made the Dell Technologies his fifth win of this season thanks to his steady play over the final nine holes of the TPC Boston when he wiped out both Spieth and Leishman.
“Patience,” is how Thomas described the mindset that has vaulted him to a sensational 2017. “Jimmy (Johnson) does a good job of keeping me patient,” Thomas said of his caddie, Jimmy Johnson. “We’ve had a great year and I have two events to finish it off.”
Thomas trailed playing partner Leishman by two shots at the turn but Leishman imploded over the final nine, starting with three straight bogeys then adding two more at 17 and 18 to shoot 40 coming home.
Thomas was quite the opposite. He shot one-under for a 66 that put him in the winner’s circle at 17-under par, three shots better than Spieth and four clear of third-place Leishman.
Spieth had promised to be aggressive and he was. He shot 30 on the front, including a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie start. Leishman made six birdies to match Spieth’s 30 but took 10 shots higher than that on the back nine. Spieth lost his magic as well, he shot two-over and posted a 67, 14-under.
It was the second-straight runnerup for Spieth in the FedEx playoffs and allowed him to hold on to the overall points lead with Thomas right behind him.
