While Sunday was undoubtedly the best day of Brooks Koepka’s life, it is one that Justin Thomas would much prefer to forget.
Thomas was on top of the world Saturday, after a record-breaking 9-under 63, which included nine birdies and an eagle, highlighted by what may go down as the greatest 3 wood shot in U.S. Open history.
The unfathomably great round vaulted Thomas from 2-under to 11-under, and into what every young golfer dreams about: a spot in Sunday’s final pairing of the United States Open.
That dream, however, quickly turned into a nightmare, as Thomas bogeyed three of the first five holes, on his way to a 3-over 75, which dropped him into a tie for 9th.
Bullets
- Best Season: 24-year-old Justin Thomas is in the midst of what is definitely the best season of his young career.
- Three Wins-Plus: The Kentucky native has 3 victories on the season, and has finished in the top 10 in half (8 of 16) of his starts.
- Highly-ranked: Thomas ranks 3rd in the FedEx Cup race, 2nd in the Presidents Cup standings, and No. 12 in the world.
- Bad Start: Thomas’ drop down the leaderboard started early, with bogeys on three of the first five holes (2, 4, and 5).
- Inaccurate: Playing in the final group with Brian Harman, Thomas hit just 9 of 18 greens, his worst GIR performance of the week.
- Tale of Two Rounds: Thomas shot a dismal 12 shots worse in his final round than he did in his 9-under 63 in round 3. His final round contained just one birdie, along with four bogeys.
On Twitter
Awesome experience being in the final group today, bummed I didn't play better, but man did @BKoepka earn that W. Congrats bro!
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) June 19, 2017
Quotable
“I felt like it was the lowest I could have shot. I just didn’t have it today, but it made me feel a lot better seeing Brooks shoot 5-under. I would have had to play some pretty spectacular golf to catch him. Anytime you don’t win, it stings. But if 12 or 13 under would have won, it would have hurt really bad.”
–Justin Thomas
