JT stands for Justin Thomas. But on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, it stood for Just Terrific. Thomas trailed by three shots entering the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship, but posted a 4-under 68 to clip Lee Westwood by one shot to earn the coveted gold trophy.
“I’m so happy to be a PLAYERS champion,” Thomas said. “This was probably one of the best rounds of my life from tee to green.”
Thomas, 27, was outside of the cutline after the first 27 holes but turned it on, highlighted by an 8-under 64 on Saturday.
It put him in position to chase on Sunday, and he got a jolt after his eagle on the par-5 11th. After that, he traversed the treacherous final stretch to add a 14th PGA TOUR title to his resume, which includes a FedExCup trophy and a PGA Championship.
Thomas earned a whopping 600 FedExCup points, moved up eight spots to No. 2 in the standings and took home a $2.7 million check.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 – Aces at THE PLAYERS last week. Watch them here: Brendon Todd (No. 8, Round 2), Denny McCarthy (No. 3, Round 2).
45 – Consecutive holes without a bogey for Lee Westwood before making a six on the par-5 second hole on Sunday.
6 – Number of birdies in a row by Sungjae Im on Friday. His streak spanned from No. 15 through No. 2 after starting his round on the 10th. Im is the 11th player to string together that many at THE PLAYERS, with the previous six-birdie streak coming from Justin Rose in 2018 (No. 9-14, final round).
8 – Number of fewer shots Byeong Hun An needed on the 17th hole on Friday after Thursday’s octuple bogey 11. An made a routine two-putt par.
17 – Consecutive PLAYERS cuts made by Sergio Garcia, the longest in tournament history (second: 14, Brad Faxon 1992-1995, 1997-2006).
32,000 – Approximate amount of shots streamed live thanks to the return of “Every Shot Live” to THE PLAYERS.
32 – Day 1 matches in the upcoming World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play (March 24-28). Don’t forget to sign up early and tune in to the Bracket Reveal Show on Monday, March 22 at 10 a.m. ET to see who will go head-to-head.
