PGA Championship 2026: Justin Thomas played angry, took the early clubhouse lead, then had to sit and wait
· Yahoo Sports
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Justin Thomas played angry Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club. He is likely one of the rare players who can do that without imploding.
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Following a two-over 72 Saturday that left him six behind leader Alex Smalley after 54 holes, Thomas decided to undertake an extended range session that was equal parts practice and penance. It was mostly the latter. He stayed on the range for nearly 90 minutes, intent on punishing himself for playing so poorly with a chance to win a third PGA Championship.
He carried that anger into Sunday’s final round and produced a closing five-under 65 that gave him the clubhouse lead—though the final groups had barely started their last tour of Aronimink. In fact, he began his final round three hours, 40 minutes ahead of the final pairing. With a gutty par save at the tough par-4 18th, Thomas got in the house at five-under 275.
“I was pretty sour yesterday. I was pissed off, to be perfectly honest,” said Thomas, 33, who won his second PGA title in 2022 at Southern Hills by coming from a record seven shots off the pace. “I fought really hard to shoot the score that I did, and I felt it was the best I could shoot, but … I was upset and bummed I didn't play better [on Saturday].
“I practiced a lot longer than I normally would have in a situation like that yesterday, but I just felt like I couldn't leave the golf course in the frame of mind I was in. It was not a great chance, there wasn't a good chance even, but I had a chance to win a major still. I needed to leave this place in a better frame of mind. I felt like it was more of a fire I was leaving with, and it was pissed off, but like a good pissed off, kind of one I wanted to bring with me today and kind of play with.”
It didn’t appear to be effective early with a bogey at the third hole, but then he played bogey-free golf the remainder of the day while collecting six birdies. But the key to the day was the finish. After missing the fairway on 18, he had to gouge out short of the green. His pitch from 39 yards was a little strong, leaving a double-breaking par putt of 17 feet. He pumped his fist when his ball took the second break back to the left and fell in the heart of the cup.
Having undergone back surgery after the Ryder Cup last fall, which sidelined him until March, Thomas thought he needed to shoot six or seven under to have a chance, but his clubhouse lead was holding up two hours after he holed out. Even in the aftermath he still seemed to be smoldering despite an effort that he said he was proud of.
“I vented and kind of got everything off my chest to my wife Jill last night. Credit to her, she gave great advice,” the Kentucky native said. “She was like, well, use that tomorrow. She's seen me play pissed off. I've done it in Ryder Cups a lot, and it's like sometimes it brings a little different energy and different side out of it. So I've got to give her a lot of credit for that because I tried to use that out of my finish and round today to play today and shoot as low as I could.”
The jury was still out on if it was low enough.
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