Justin Thomas followed in the footsteps of Rory McIlroy at the RBC Heritage, with the two-time major champion managing to end his own wait for a victory as he beat Andrew Novak in a playoff at Harbour Town.
Of course, Rory McIlroy ending an 11-year drought in the majors is an iconic moment in golfing history. And nothing which took place at Hilton Head was going to come close to being as significant.
But for Justin Thomas, his win at the RBC Heritage is hugely important. The 31-year-old went into the week having not won on the PGA Tour since the 2022 PGA Championship.
It has been a bumpy ride for Thomas in recent years. He had already gone more than a year since his previous win when he managed to claim his second major title at Southern Hills. And obviously, it would get a lot worse before it got better again.
What baffled Ryan Lavner as Justin Thomas endured his slump in form
Thomas failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs in 2023, while there was plenty of debate surrounding Zach Johnson‘s decision to pick him for that year’s Ryder Cup. Thomas himself would joke that he felt Keegan Bradley should have been picked ahead of him after watching the depiction of the events on Full Swing.
But his performance in Rome was encouraging. And following last year’s Tour Championship, Thomas had finished second on three occasions, including at the Valspar Championship shortly before The Masters.
That wait for a win is now over. And speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast about the drought, Ryan Lavner insisted that he was baffled by a lot of criticism Thomas received during that run.
“It almost didn’t happen. Andrew Novak had a 12-footer on the last green, the final hole in regulation. If he made that one, Justin Thomas was going to be denied again. And at which point, I think it would be very easy for the frustration to build even more so,” he said.
“You look at the close calls that he’s had, let’s call it over the last nine months, shot 66 in the final round of the ZOZO in October, he had a run of 11 straight pars on the back nine, ended up losing by one. He shot 66 in the final round of The Amex, but he parred his last seven holes, ended up losing by two. He shot 66 in the final round of the Valspar, had a great chance to win that one as well. But of course, we remember as we documented on the podcast, bogeyed two of the last three holes, two of which with very ugly tee shots left which I think probably for a lesser guy would have left some scar tissue. But I think the way that Justin Thomas closed out this golf tournament should give him plenty of confidence.
“Yes, Andrew Novak had a chance to win, but he was balling out over the last hour. When it comes to Justin Thomas, 20-footer for birdie on 15, made a smart call laying up when he was out of position. Beautiful tee shot on 17 gave him a great look, nice approach into 18, hit essentially pin high despite leaving himself 200 in there, and then had a great shot with a short iron on the first playoff hole.
“He does everything well, he is an exceptional golfer, and that’s why I never understood the motivation or the desire to bury him a couple of years ago when he was going through a little bit of the doldrums; the backlash that he was experiencing. This dude is incredible, one of the best players of his generation. The shot-shaping, the short game shots, the clutch putting, the flair for the dramatic, he is everything you should want out of a PGA Tour player.”
RBC Heritage win provides crucial validation for Justin Thomas
The question for Thomas now is what level can he reach? Many expect Rory McIlroy to win plenty more majors now that he has finally secured number five. And it may be a similar case for Thomas generally.
Experiencing that feeling of actually getting across the line must provide vindication and a serious sense of satisfaction for the work that he has done over the last couple of years.
And Lavner suggested that that validation could be particularly important for someone like Thomas who does not always give themselves an easy time.
“I’ve covered Justin Thomas for a long time. When I started at Golf Week magazine back in 2010, JT was one of the first players that I ever covered, and he is the same player now as he was back then in that he is insanely hard on himself – probably one of the hardest on himself on any level of the PGA Tour,” he added.
“He knows what he can do, he’s done it his entire life, and there is a natural temptation when you’re that good, and everybody knows you are that good, to want to push to get across the finish line. I think that’s what we’ve seen over these past couple of years.”
While McIlroy has been the standout player on the PGA Tour this year, Thomas has arguably not been too far behind, with the likes of Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele yet to find their best form.
With that, there is a huge opportunity for Thomas to close that gap and become a superstar once again.
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