Players Championship: Justin Thomas’ course record bid spoiled by watery demise

Justin Thomas had the course record in his grasp, but he wound up tying the best score ever shot at TPC Sawgrass.

Justin Thomas stood on the 18th tee at TPC Sawgrass with a chance at history.

If he could make a par, he would set a new course record with an 11-under 61. But since Thomas made a mess of this challenging hole the day before, he felt extra pressure. On Thursday, Thomas tugged his tee shot into the water that extends down the entire 18th hole. He made a triple bogey, a big reason why he posted a 6-over 68 on day one.

So, on Friday, Thomas pulled out his nifty 5-wood and aimed way right, hoping to flight a draw back into the right side of the fairway. But his tee shot did not turn back as much as he wanted to, setting in the rough behind the trees. Then, Thomas made a costly mistake, as the 18th bit him again. His punch shot scuttled through the 18th fairway and ended up in the water.

Yet, true to his resilient self, Thomas took a drop and stuck his 50-yard approach to a foot away. He tapped in for bogey, settled for a 10-under 62, which matched the course record set by Tom Hoge in 2023. Funny enough, Thomas played alongside Hoge that day. But Hoge only made 10 birdies then and Thomas holed 11 par-breakers on Friday, which set a Players Championship record.

“I just wanted to make another birdie, and then once I missed the fairway, birdie is kind of out of the question and then I was trying to hit something short of the green there and the rough grabbed the face enough to have it shoot out straight left, and with the momentum of that ball, it’s obviously going in the water,” Thomas said of 18.

“But I very easily could have hit it where I wanted to, hit a really good pitch or chip and a really good putt and not gone in and made the same score. I’m in no way, shape or form letting that dwell on the great round I had today.”

The two-time PGA Championship winner made five birdies on the front nine to go out with a 5-under 31. He then holed four straight on the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th holes to soar up the leaderboard and threaten the course record. A birdie on the par-5 16th got him to 10-under for the day, which set the stage for plenty of drama on the famous island green.

On the 17th, Thomas stuck a gap wedge to 18 feet right of the pin. He now faced a quick, delicate side-winder — a putt with almost three feet of break. Thomas barely touched it, and his ball rolled ever so slightly toward the cup, the precise spot where Tiger Woods holed his ‘Better Than Most’ putt in 2001. Like Woods then, Thomas’ putt was “better than most” as his ball fell into the bottom of the cup on its last revolution. It was his 11th birdie of the round.

“That was one of the best rounds I’ve played, for sure. I just got it — mentally it was the biggest thing. I felt like I did an unbelievable job of keeping my eyes forward, keeping my blinders on, not looking backwards, forwards, anything like that. It was just, ‘How can I put this ball in the fairway off the tee?’ And then ‘How can I make birdie?’ And let’s rinse and repeat,” Thomas said.

“I putted the ball beautifully, too. Just one of those days. I feel like I haven’t done a great job of that this year, of when I get it going, keeping it going. I started to get a little defensive, it’s not me. It’s just funny, Rev and I talked about this week of, when I do get it going, just keep it going. Don’t be bashful. I’m obviously playing really well, otherwise I wouldn’t be that many under par. That’s what I did today.”

Indeed, Thomas’ round was spectacular — one of the best in Players Championship history, despite what happened on the 18th. He is now seven shots back of the lead, a position he did not think he would find himself in after opening with a 6-over 78 on Thursday.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.