Justin Thomas won for the 16th time on the PGA Tour, yet it felt different Sunday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed winning,” he said of the emotions that accompanied the aftermath of the winning putt.
Thomas rolled in a birdie from 21 feet out on the first playoff hole to win the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links, claiming a tournament title for the first time in nearly three years.
Thomas and Andrew Novak, who was seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour, were at 17-under 267 through 72 holes. Novak was in the last pairing for the third time this season but couldn’t find a way to win.
Thomas, a two-time major champion, hadn’t won since capturing the 2022 PGA Championship.
“Winning is hard. It’s really, really hard,” Thomas said. “I’ve worked my butt off, stayed patient, stayed positive.”
Thomas shot 3-under 68, ending his bogey-free round with three consecutive pars. Novak was off the mark on a would-be winning 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole of regulation and also had 68 for the round.
“I just missed on the reads there,” he said.
Thomas has been in playoffs seven times on the tour, capturing victories in five of those.
So it was another close call for Novak.
“Not so much as far as emotions,” he said. “I’m not as frustrated as I thought I would be. I feel like I did a lot of good things. … I need to go out there and get a win at some point, but all of these finishes are great.”
Thomas led after the first and second rounds. He went ahead on the 15th hole Sunday with a 24 1/2-foot birdie putt, but Novak countered with a birdie from about 17 feet away on the 16th.
“I’m pretty proud of putting myself in that position when I really felt like I wasn’t swinging it that great this week,” Novak said. “The fact that I was able to scrap out almost a win with not really swinging my best.”
Daniel Berger (65 on Sunday), Brian Harman (69), Maverick McNealy (70) and Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes (67) tied for third place at 14 under. England’s Tommy Fleetwood (70) was seventh at 13 under.
“Just missed a couple swings on the back nine,” Harman said. “If I had four or five swings back over the tournament, I think I would have been right there.”
Hughes said the top-10 outcome could be beneficial in the big picture.
“To have a result like this and to do it when I know the points are going to be amplified (in the tour’s revamped system), it’s massive for me,” Hughes said.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler had climbed the leaderboard with three birdies in a five-hole stretch until a double-bogey 7 on the 15th hole and a bogey on No. 17 doomed his round. He shot 70, tying for eighth place with Russell Henley (70) and third-round leader Si Woo Kim of South Korea (74) at 12 under.
Scheffler, the reigning world No. 1 golfer, remains without a championship this year.
“I just needed a few more shots out there, which was definitely there for the taking for me,” Scheffler said. “I just didn’t quite take advantage of them.”
Kim was 2 over through 12 holes and his troubles continued with a double-bogey 5 on No. 14.
Bud Cauley’s 64 marked the best score of the final round. That put him at 7 under and tied for 32nd place.
–Field Level Media
