HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Smart golf.
That was the goal for Justin Thomas during the final round of the 2025 RBC Heritage. It sounds easy on paper but under the pressure of trying to win for the 16th time in his career on the PGA Tour, it can be easier said than done.
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After all, it had been two years, 10 months and 29 days, or more to the point, 1,064 days, since his last win at the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills. Thomas’s toughest opponent on the final day proved to be himself. His mantras were ‘trust’ and ‘commitment’ – trust his first instinct and commit to his shot choice.
Justin Thomas plays a practice round ahead of the 2026 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Thomas did just that, shooting a bogey-free final-round 3-under 68 at Harbour Town Golf Links and sinking a 21-foot birdie putt to defeat Andrew Novak on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff.
“When the ball went in, it was pure joy,” Thomas recalled. “That was as fun as I thought it would be.”
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A year ago, the 32-year-old’s opening-round 61 tied the Harbour Town course record, the fourth Tour event tying or holding a course record. It also marked his ninth career round where he tied or set the course record. Thomas also won for the first time since becoming a father and joined an exclusive club consisting of Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in having at least 16 victories and two majors before the age of 32.
Thomas returns this week to defend at the RBC Heritage and enjoyed some of the spoils of his victory, including hitting the ceremonial tee shot to officially open the tournament week on Tuesday. To do so, he donned the winner’s plaid jacket and wore ear plugs as he hit a ball with a persimmon driver into Calibogue Sound as a cannon fired simultaneously.
“It was very loud and scared me pretty bad. But I was very pleased with my shot,” he said. “I had no idea what it was going to be like both swinging in that jacket and hitting a persimmon club like that.”
He also chomped on the champion’s burger, featuring short rib, brisket and chuck topped with bacon, pepper jack, avocado, a fried egg and southwestern aioli that is on the menu at Fraser’s Tavern, a local institution located in the nearby Plantation Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort.
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Thomas, ranked 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking, is still attempting to get his sea legs back after missing more than four months after undergoing a microdiscectomy, a procedure to remove a bulging or damaged disc in the lower spine. Thomas shot a pair of 79s in his first start back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and missed the cut and said it was a humbling experience.
“I just felt like I was humiliating myself out there,” he said after shooting 14 over. “I’m trying as hard as I can to give myself a little bit of grace with how long I haven’t played and how difficult this place can be, but at the same time, I expect more out of myself.”
A week later, he contended at the Players Championship, eventually finished T-8. It’s his best result in four starts this season, and he enters his title defense coming off a T-40 at the Masters.
McIlroy, who repeated as Masters champion on Sunday, opted to skip this week as did Justin Rose, who finished T-3 at Augusta National, and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, but it is otherwise a star-studded field for the fourth of eight signature events, where the purse is $20 million and there is no cut in the limited-field event. In fact, 66 of the 82 players in the field have won on the PGA Tour, led by Scottie Scheffler with 20.
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Through 14 events of the 2026 Tour season, there have only been two first-time Tour winners — Jacob Bridgeman, who took the title at the Genesis Invitational, and Ricky Castillo, who hoisted the trophy at the Puerto Rico Open. C.T. Pan (2019) was the last player to win the RBC Heritage for his first career PGA Tour victory. But Thomas, who competed in the Junior Heritage as a teen and called the Pete Dye design a course that “fits my game,” will always treasure being a champion at Harbour Town.
“I feel like winning on a golf course like this is a pretty cool thing to add to your resume,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Justin Thomas won 2025 RBC Heritage with mantra of trust and commitment
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