Justin Thomas Wins First Major at PGA

Justin Thomas is more than Jordan Speith’s good buddy, he’s a major champion. On Sunday during the final round of PGA Championship, the 24-year-old Kentucky native fired a 3-under par 68 at Quail Hollow to capture his first major title.

Starting the day two shots back, Thomas got off to a shaky start having to hole a 14-footer to save bogey on the difficult par-4 first. While he followed it up with a birdie on two, he made another bogey on the par-4 third. However, he got right back in it with birdies on seven and nine, where he drained a 36-foot birdie putt and went out in 1-under. 

Thomas carried that momentum into the back nine. On the par-5 10th, he caught some good fortune when his drive kicked out of the trees and onto the fairway. Then, his birdie putt miraculously hung on the edge before falling into the hole prompting an exaggerated hat tip to the gallery. 

The magic continued three holes later at the par-3 13th where Thomas chipped in from off the green to open up a two-shot lead.

Then on the 214-yard par-3 17th, Thomas launched 7-iron to 14-feet and converted the putt for the clutch birdie.

The timely two gave give him the cushion he needed to play the brutal par-4 18th, leaving him tap-in for the coveted Wanamaker Trophy.

Thomas, whose father and grandfather are both PGA professionals, is having quite the season. He now has four wins which also includes a round of 59 at the Sony Open and a round of 63 in the U.S. Open. Plus he’s the front-runner for PGA Tour Player of the Year. A $1.89 million check for this week’s effort isn’t too bad either. 

“It was something that obviously as a kid growing up, being a golf fan, you want to win all the majors. You want to win any major,” Thomas said after the round. “For me, the PGA definitely had a special place in my heart, and maybe a special drive, I guess you could say.”

Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari and Patrick Reed finished in a tie for second. Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama tied for fifth. DJ finished T13, while Rory ended T22 and Spieth was T28 in his first bid to close out the career grand slam. 

Here’s a look at the final round highlights and results from the 99th PGA Championship:

The next stop on the PGA Tour is the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC, Greensboro, North Carolina.

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