Totally Thomas — Justin Justified With Dramatic Victory At The Players

The anticipated Lee Westwood-Bryson DeChambeau Show was pre-empted Sunday by Justin Thomas and J.T. put on his own come-from-behind rally that snared The Players Championship and brought smiles back to his face after a tough couple of months.

It was a wild ride over the final 18 holes, as it typically is on the treacherous Pete Dye course that can create agony and ecstasy for everyone in the hunt.

The pressure cooker of the final round took a toll on Westwood and DeChambeau as both hit an array of strange shots on a sunny, warm northern Florida afternoon.  Best example was the fourth hole where DeChambeau topped his tee shot into a creek only 100 yards in front of the tee.  The winner of last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational then hit what looked like a shank that sailed way right into more trouble.  By the time he walked off the hole, DeChambeau was fortunate to make double-bogey.  Westwood wasn’t much better.  His tee shot went wild-right into a water hazard and he managed to save bogey.

But it was that kind of performance by the final duo that opened the door for Thomas.  And Thomas let his clubs do the talking all day as he hit basically every green until his final approach shot at the 18th settled on the fringe, two inches off the green.  J.T., who vaulted into contention with his Saturday 64, went on a championship run starting at the ninth hole.  He had just three-putted the par three eighth and failed on the many good looks at birdie he had over the first seven holes.  His putts were burning the lips.  After he holed the 24-footer at nine, he drained another from seven feet at 10 then at the par five 11th, he hit a gem of a second to 19 feet and made that for eagle, sending up a huge roar from the crowd, letting Westwood and DeChambeau know that J.T. was cooking ahead of them.

Thomas hit three-wood over the reachable 12th then chipped to a foot to get to 14-under.  He gave one back with a three-putt for bogey at 14 but got it back with a nice two-putt birdie at 16, the birdie that would prove the difference.  Seventeen and 18 were nervous for him.  He had to hole a five-footer for par at 17 then at 18, his tee shot skirted the water, looking like it might bounce in, but he got a bounce to the right and ended up with just a sand wedge to the green.  Easy par for a closing 68 (14-under) and when Westy and Bryson failed to eagle 18, Thomas had his 14th win and his second biggest next to his PGA Championship.

“It tested me mentally, physically and emotionally.  I’m proud of myself for getting it done,” said Thomas, who was embraced by his parents as he walked off the 72nd hole.  “It’s been a crappy couple of months,” said Thomas, who lost his grandfather last month and went through the controversy that saw Ralph Lauren drop its sponsorship with him.  “It took a lot out of me mentally,” he admitted.  “I had to suck it up and get over it.”

And get over it he did.  He still sounded a bit down on Wednesday and his first two rounds of 71-71 had him making the cut by just two shots.  But then came the weekend and he tied the mark for best weekend comeback.  He was seven back, same as Tim Clark when he won this championship back in 2010.

Thomas was 15-under par over his last 25 holes.  He hit shot-after-shot in a machine-like performance to edge Westwood by a shot.  Westy drained a 15-footer for birdie to finish solo second, ahead of DeChambeau and Brian Harman, who tied for third at 12-under.

But Sunday was all about J.T.  “Hard to put into words,” he admitted.  “To do it in front of fans again felt incredible.  Saturday I played beautifully and told myself to try and get around the lead.”

He did just that, then went blowing by the Westwood-Bryson Show with his own championship special.

And special it was.

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