Justin Thomas could be getting hot at just the right time, as he eased into a four-shot win at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday for his second PGA Tour win of the season.
Thomas shot a 1-under 69 in the final round to finish at 15-under-par, four shots ahead of Kyle Stanley.
Thomas Peaking at Right Time
The win was the first for Thomas in five months, following his victory at the Honda Classic back in February. It also comes just a week before the PGA Championship, where Thomas will come in as the defending champion.
While Thomas’ season has hardly been a poor one, neither has been as successful as his 2017 campaign, when he won five PGA Tour events. Thomas hasn’t been a major factor in any of the first three majors this year, and hadn’t been in the mix to win any tournament since he lost to Phil Mickelson in a playoff at the WGC-Mexico Championship a week after his last win.
“I’ve had a lot of really solid finishes, a lot of top-10s or top-15s, but a lot of those have been because of a pretty good last day, as opposed to having a chance to win,” Thomas told reporters after his victory at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, this weekend. “I really want to try to have an opportunity to win as many of these events as I can going into Sunday and on the back nine, because that’s where I feel like I’m comfortable, it’s where I feel like I thrive, it’s what I enjoy, it’s why I play.”
Grandparents Day
This win also carried extra weight for Thomas thanks to the presence of two of his grandparents in the audience, the first time they were able to witness him win on the PGA Tour in person. They were with the rest of his family as he putted for the win at the 18th hole on Sunday.
“When I had my putt, I kind of marked it and I turned around and I just happened to see my parents, saw my grandma and grandpa, and I just got a huge knot in my throat,” Thomas said. “I never have gotten like that on the golf course before. I wanted to win for them so bad.”
Thomas will now head to Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis for the PGA Championship. He’ll start his tournament in an intriguing threesome with two players who have won the tournament multiple times: Tiger Woods, who has four PGA Championships to his credit, and Rory McIlroy, who has won it twice.
Coming off a win and ranked No. 2 in the world, Thomas is one of the favorites to win next weekend. William Hill lists Thomas at 12/1 to defend his title, behind only Dustin Johnson (8/1) and McIlroy (11/1).
This was the last time that the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational will take place at the Firestone Country Club. The tournament moves to TPC Southwind in Memphis next season, where it will be sponsored by FedEx.