Hitting 78 strokes in a first round of the THE PLAYERS generally means the end of your tournament adventure. Recovering in Friday’s 18 holes from a round six strokes over par and making the cut is nothing short of a miracle. It’s no surprise, therefore, that when this happens, many players let go and start thinking about their next commitment on the calendar. But this is not the case for Justin Thomas (-4), a born competitor who has shown as much self-respect as talent this afternoon.
The golfer from Louisville, Kentucky, cared little that as the hours passed, the fairways became harder, the greens less receptive, or that the breeze was less gentle than in the morning rounds. He put on an epic display that only lacked the final touch on the last hole. A record round at TPC Sawgrass where the thousands of fans watching live, and those watching on television, witnessed something rarely seen in a tournament of this level.
Yesterday, JT shot a 78.
Now, he’s chasing the course record.
He needs to go 1-under on his last four holes to match Hoge’s 62 👀 pic.twitter.com/RWSP3OkadK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2025
With five birdies in his first nine holes, Justin made it clear he was more than willing to fight to make a cut that fluctuated between one, two, or possibly even three strokes under par. And in the second half of his round, he let loose with six birdies between holes 11 and 17 to set the tournament’s best birdie record, no less than 11, leaving himself a chance on the 18th to set the course record, held by Tom Hoge after carding a 62 in the third round of last year’s tournament edition.
The tee shot was not good for JT, with his ball too far to the right, in an area of tall grass with no angle to attack the flag. But the problem came with his recovery shot, which didn’t close and went straight into the water. After dropping with a penalty, he needed to hole out from the fairway, from almost 50 meters, to make a historic 61. And he truly tried, going for it, and almost achieving the miracle. It wasn’t to be, but he left his ball half a meter away to make the bogey and match the best result ever at THE PLAYERS. His was also the largest difference from one round to another in the tournament’s history, 16 strokes (78 on Thursday and 62 today), surpassing the 15 by Kiradech Aphibarnrat in 2019 (84 the first and 69 the second, missing the cut).
JUSTIN THOMAS ON 17!
He now needs a par or better on the 18th to break the course record. pic.twitter.com/LaXtQeTdJX
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 14, 2025
Thomas was the second-best in the field at approaching, hitting 11 out of 14 fairways, and only missed that par four on the 18th for a full recovery. But above all, he was a true master on the greens. He made three six-meter birdie putts, another three from four meters, one from two meters, and three more from a meter and a half or less. A couple of times he putted for eagle. And surely, if it hadn’t been for that final bogey, he would have been sorry to finish his round because he was in one of those days when the holes seem as big as a volcano crater.
The performance is summed up in his climb up the leaderboard, improving more than 100 places in just 18 holes. One of the players he surpassed was, precisely, his friend Jordan Spieth (-3), who after his 70 yesterday, had to fight to make the cut with a 71. At the top, only Alex Smalley (-9), Lucas Glover (-8), and Will Zalatoris (-8) managed to get close to the leading positions established in the morning round. And some notable players like Justin Rose (PAR), Hideki Matsuyama (PAR), Ludvig Aberg (+2), or Viktor Hovland (+4) were left out. But the spotlight today at THE PLAYERS was on Justin Thomas, seven strokes behind the leader, but with such golf, a contender for everything this weekend.
