Justin Thomas has opened up on how he filled his time while waiting to see if he stood any chance of winning the PGA Championship for a third time this month.
Thomas began the final round at Aronimink six shots behind leader Alex Smalley. It appeared that his hopes of victory in Philadelphia had been dashed by his 72 on Saturday.
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However, Thomas stole the show during the early stages of Sunday’s finale. He actually made a bogey on his third hole of the day, but quickly built some momentum.
The 33-year-old made six birdies over the remainder of his round. And when he holed a par putt on the 72nd hole, it appeared that Thomas was very much aware that he was in contention to win.
Justin Thomas reflects on his long wait at the PGA Championship
Thomas held the clubhouse lead for a long time. Ultimately, he had to settle for a tie of fourth place. However, only Aaron Rai finished more than one shot ahead of him.
Given the testing conditions for much of the week, it did appear that Thomas could not be ruled out of winning for much of the day. And thus, ahead of the Charles Schwab Challenge, Thomas explained what the experience was like waiting to find out his fate.
Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images
“Yeah, I got done and kind of was trying to figure out what to do. My rental house was very close to the course, so I just went back with my family, my parents, and aunt and uncle were in town, and we just went to the house and watched,” he said.
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“I didn’t really feel like, to be honest, sitting in the clubhouse and every person walking by and telling me what’s going to happen or what do you think. I just honestly didn’t want to have that conversation 45 times. So just kind of went back and waited and watched and it was a lot.
“It was funny, I texted with a couple people, like the golf fan in me was enjoying like it was a really, really good tournament, but, I mean, I obviously was hoping people weren’t making birdies, so it was kind of a strange place to be in, but it sure as hell beat being on the flight home and not having to watch or care.”
Aronimink disappointment hints brighter times lie ahead for Justin Thomas
Despite the disappointment of leaving himself with just a little too much to do to win on Sunday at Aronimink, Thomas can take so many positives from his performance.
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The last few years have been tough, with Thomas going into the PGA Championship with just one top 10 in the majors since the start of the 2024 season.
He also has just one PGA Tour victory in that time.
He has now finished inside the top 10 at both The Players and the PGA Championship. Thomas has also performed well at the Cadillac Championship and the Truist Championship in recent weeks.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise if Aronimink does not prove to be the last time that Thomas puts himself in the mix to win this year.
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