It almost seeded like a drought, but it was certainly a minor one, as it had only been October 22 of 2017 since Justin Thomas beat Marc Leishman in a playoff to win the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges Golf Club on South Korea’s Jeju Island.
Thomas needed another playoff yesterday to take the Honda Classic from Luke List, who stood to benefit tremendously from the win.
Thomas and List were in the final group.
In regulation play, Thomas hit his tee shot wide right into the tree and was forced to lay up on the par-5 18th. List, on the other hand, striped his drive and played a beautiful second shot that scooted right past the pin and stayed on the back of the green.
For his third shot, Thomas hit a beautiful wedge to gimme distance for birdie, while List two-putted for birdie to send the tournament into extra holes.
Playing the 18th for the first playoff hole, the two players reversed roles. Thomas found the fairway and List went right, where he was forced to lay up. His third shot was well played, but he could not convert for birdie, while Thomas hit a gorgeous second onto the green to almost the exact position List had in regulation play.
Thomas made the birdie for the win, giving him eight PGA Tour wins for his young career.
Some may recall that Thomas’ first win in the CIMB Classic in November of 2015 came at the expense of another Aussie golfer, Adam Scott.
It is not true, however, that Justin Thomas gangs up on the Aussie golfers. In the first place, it is just him and there is nowhere of which we are aware where a gang consists of one person. Secondly, if there is any ganging up going on, it would have to be said that it is Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama who is on the receiving end, as Thomas has twice denied Matsuyama tournament victories.
