Justin Thomas (-17) has won the RBC Heritage by defeating Andrew Novak (-17) on the first playoff hole, sinking a lethal birdie putt from nearly seven metres. Just a few minutes earlier, as fate would have it, on the 72nd hole, Novak had a much more manageable opportunity from just over two metres to avoid going to the playoff, but he squandered it, thus missing a great chance to secure his first win on the PGA Tour.
Before reaching sudden death, both Thomas and Novak were the calmest in a tight final day where the man who started as the leader, Si Woo Kim (-12), quickly opened the doors to the rest after missing two rather short and consecutive putts on holes 2 and 3, the first for birdie and the second to save par. The contenders danced at the top of the leaderboard at a Harbour Town that was already yellowing this Sunday on fairways and greens, firm and fast, and defended itself well, even without the decisive help of the wind, which never blew very strongly.
Thomas had gone nearly three years without a win, but this time he didn’t let impatience or anxiety get the better of him, as had happened on other occasions throughout this long journey through the desert. This time he always seemed to have the reins in hand and to make the right strategic decisions, closing with a flawless final round without bogeys, very sharp in recoveries around the greens (6/6). As for Novak, it must be agreed that he seems sufficiently prepared to make the leap to another dimension, no more, no less. Nothing can be reproached, not even that unfortunate (and very poorly executed) putt on the 72nd hole. He will still have to wait for his winning debut, but this player, without a doubt, should be expected again on a Sunday in the final groups. Once again, because to date he is the player who has appeared most often this year in the Sunday featured group (3).
The winner in Hilton Head is not just any winner, so the boost he will receive from this success will not be just any boost. He has lived off the proceeds of that galactic 61 on Thursday, it’s true, but he has done so with great balance and, above all, by avoiding big numbers when things went awry. He may have gone so long without winning, since that 2022 PGA, but the Kentuckian had already been in the world top ten for several weeks, proof that his rehabilitation (in these three years he fell out of the world top 25) was already a fact. And if, given what we’ve seen, Novak should be expected, what can be said about Thomas. Until proven otherwise, we are talking about a great champion, capable of facing anyone, anywhere. Another rooster in the barn, because this victory will also propel him to World Number 5.
The Scheffler model has lined them all up at the same window: if you are already a great player and desperately need to aspire to everything, you will have to keep working like a beast, but at the same time, you must think better on the course.
It is not yet very clear if Scottie is strictly following his own manual, but today he still managed to get into the fight for the win, placing himself two strokes from the lead at the crucial moment. A double bogey on the 15th hole, the last par 5 of the course, where he evidently made poor decisions, definitively took him out of contention, but the lad has once again taken home a top ten. It doesn’t seem that this man, for now, is in danger of going three years without a win. The problem he has, which is growing and growing, is that even for him, no matter what he says, these months without a victory are becoming long. The weight of the purple is that tricky.
