Victory secure, history beckoned Justin Thomas.
Thomas arrived at Waialae Country Club on Sunday with a seven-shot lead and snuffed any faint hopes his pursuers may have harbored with a run of four birdies in a five-hole stretch midway through the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.
With his fourth PGA Tour win and third of the season all but sealed, Thomas kept aim on the PGA Tour’s 72-hole scoring record.
When Thomas punctuated a dominant stay in the islands by tapping in for birdie on the 18th green, the win, the record and the distinction of the game’s hottest player belonged to the 23-year-old from Kentucky.
Needing to go 4 under to tie the scoring record, Thomas went one better in crafting a 5-under 65 for a four-day total of 27-under-par 253, breaking Russell Henley’s tournament record of 24 under set in 2013.
“This win meant a lot because of how I did it, the first wire-to-wire win,” Thomas said. “I had a hard time getting focused up there today. I was nervous today … the first time I’ve felt like that in a long time. To be able to handle it the way I did, I was very proud.”
While Thomas – who turned pro after leading Alabama to the national championship in 2013 — might not have been quite as recognizable as some of his fellow early-20 somethings, good buddy Jordan Spieth in particular, those days might be soon behind him.
Thomas has won three of his first five starts in the wrap-around season and is projected to jump four spots to eighth in the World Golf Rankings and pass Hideki Matsuyama into first in the FedEx Cup standings.
Thomas paired wins at the SBS Tournament of Champions at Kapalua and the Sony Open to become the first player to sweep the tour’s Hawaii swing since Ernie Els in 2003.
“I just can’t get over how fast these last two weeks went by and how much of a blur they almost are,” Thomas said. “I played some great golf. I’m really excited where my game is and how comfortable I’m feeling when I’m out there.”
Even with the big lead — actually because of it — Thomas admitted to feeling a bit jittery Sunday morning.
“All I could hear about from everyone and reading everything is not one has ever blown a seven-shot lead before,” Thomas said. “A lot of things go through your head when you wake up at 6:30 and you don’t tee off until 12:40.”
Justin Rose started the day eight shots back, made a surge with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 and closed to five shots when Thomas bogeyed the par-3 fourth.
But Thomas dropped an 8-foot putt to save par on No. 6, then dropped the hammer with a birdie on the par-5 ninth and an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 11th to get to 24 under.
“If I missed (the par putt on No. 6) it goes 2 over through 6. I think the lead would have maybe gotten down to four,” Thomas said. “If I miss that, then who knows what would have happened.”
Thomas hit his approach on No. 12 inside of 3 feet for his fourth birdie of the run and nearly added another on No. 13 when his shot out of the bunker spun out of the cup.
He birdied 14 after hitting his drive behind a palm tree and saved par from the rough on 17 to stay on record pace going into 18, where he finished with a two-putt from 60 feet.
Thomas’ affection for Waialae began as a rookie in 2015, when he fired a 61 in the second round. But he didn’t break 70 in his next four Sony Open rounds, missing the cut last year with a two-day total of 1 over.
His hole-out eagle chip on No. 10 Thursday morning propelled him to a magical 59. He set the tour’s 36-hole record with a 64 on Friday and tied the 54-hole mark with a 65 on Saturday. His round Sunday knocked Tommy Armour III’s 254 at the 2003 Valero Texas Open into second place among the PGA Tour’s lowest 72-hole scores.
“I love this course. … It’s just a course that I like when it’s firm fairways. You’ve got to shape it to kind of match the fairways. It’s a lot of grinding,” Thomas said.
“The greens weren’t as firm this year. I wouldn’t have shot 27 under if the greens were firm, that’s for sure. But it’s just a place I like off the tee. There aren’t very many shots that aren’t comfortable to my eye … and I played well.”
Rose shot a 64 to match last year’s winning total at 20-under 260 and finish solo second. His tap in for birdie on 18 broke a tie with Spieth, who climbed to third with his lowest round at Waialae, a 7-under 63.
Rose’s total would have won or tied for the lead in 16 of the previous 18 years.
“I won the other tournament,” Rose said. “We all knew (Thomas) was going to be hard to catch today. We needed help from him. Coming down the stretch, we were playing for second. I turned on and went through a couple of gears there.”
Chez Reavie carded a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th hole and made the turn at 7-under 28. He climbed into second for a time and 9 under for the round with six holes to play. He couldn’t sustain his run at the second 59 for the week, but still signed for a 9-under 61 and jumped from a tie for 48th to eighth.
