Justin Thomas knew he had at least a small advantage on Andrew Novak after they hit their respective approaches on the first and only playoff hole of the RBC Heritage on Sunday, and walking to the green, he shared a thought with his temporary caddie Joe Greiner: He’d never hit a putt to win a tournament.

Well, he had, of course—you don’t win two majors and 16 previous PGA Tour events without hitting the winning putt—but never a long one, never one where he could unleash a roar like the day when he and Tiger put a point on the board for the U.S. in the 2019 Presidents Cup.

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And by putting the thought into the universe via Geiner’s ear, perhaps he set the ethereal wheels in motion, because a couple minutes later, after Novak lagged his putt to inside three feet, Thomas stood over his birdie attempt of 21 feet, 2 inches, and did this:

The headline here, beyond the putt itself, is that Thomas has his first victory after a drought that started after he won his second PGA Championship at Southern Hills in 2022, and lasted nearly three years. This will not be the biggest story of a drought-busting playoff victory in professional golf this month—something relatively big happened just last week, if memory serves—nor will Thomas’ prize of a plaid jacket be the most renowned formal wear handed out to a winner. Still, capturing this signature event could not be more meaningful to him, and that emotion was in plain sight as tears reddened his eyes when the roars of the crowd died down.

“Winning’s hard,” he told CBS’ Amanda Balionis, distilling golf’s most merciless truth down to two words. “It’s really hard…you take for granted sometimes when you get on those runs, and I just didn’t realise how much I missed winning.”

Starting from the second-to-last-group, just one shot off the lead, Thomas was rock-solid all day, making three birdies to zero bogeys en route to a 68 and a 17 under finish. Andrew Novak, who keeps finding himself in final pairings on Sunday this year, was equally strong, duplicating Thomas’ score through his combination of five birdies and two bogeys. Lucky for both of them, the player with a one-shot lead, Si Woo Kim, put up the worst score of any player who finished in the top 20, and of just two scores worse than par among that group, stumbling to a 74 and a t-8 finish.

That meant a playoff between Thomas and Novak was destiny, but not until the two-time PGA champ had to sit in scoring and watch on a tiny screen as Novak attempted a 10-footer for the win in regulation. Thomas hadn’t played the 18th well, with a weak fading tee shot that left him 200 yards to the pin, and an approach that raced 35 feet past the pin, relegating him to par. It was Novak who seemed to rise to the moment, with a terrific drive setting up his precise gap wedge to 10 feet. But on a day of relatively strong putting, the attempt for a walk-off win was eminently forgettable—either a pull, a misread, or some combination of both that never had a chance to get in.

The 30-year-old South Carolina native and Wofford alum admitted he was plenty nervous on 18, but less frustrated with the loss than he thought he might be. The fact that it’s his third top-three finish of the year doesn’t hurt.

“I need to go out there and get a win at some point, but all of these finishes are great,” he said. “I have big goals for the year. Obviously this is going to look good for Captain Keegan, and I’ve got a lot more to do as far as that, but I’m putting my name up there, and the next step is just to win.”

He won’t be the only one dreaming big about the Ryder Cup—Thomas’ campaign to make the team in Italy, documented so thoroughly on Full Swing, ended up supplanting Bradley, but this win will leave him in equally good stead in the captain’s eyes. It will also propel him into a favourite’s position for Quail Hollow and the PGA Championship, though he’ll want to improve on the -1.03 strokes gained off the tee he put up in victory this week.

Everywhere else, Thomas was superb, finishing fifth in SG: Approach and third in SG: Putting. That plays especially well on Pete Dye’s design at the Harbour Town Golf Links, which does more than perhaps any other course on Tour to minimise the benefit of strong driving.

By round’s end, it was a two-horse race between Thomas and Novak, but at various times throughout the day, world no. 1 Scottie Scheffler seemed to be on the verge of breaking through to the top. A double bogey on 15 ended that run, and Scheffler finished tied with Si Woo Kim at 12 under. Two shots above them, but three below the leaders, a four-way tie for third was shared by Daniel Berger, Mackenzie Hughes, Brian Harman, and Maverick McNealy. Tommy Fleetwood finished in solo 7th at 13 under.

By returning to the winner’s circle, Thomas also moves into the top five of the world rankings for the first time since July of 2022. It’s a testament to a lot of good finishes, but also perseverance.

“I’ve worked my butt off and stayed patient and stayed positive,” he said. “I’m really proud of myself today, how patient I was and just plotting my way around.”

And like any champion who feels his form returning, there’s no doubt that he’ll eye the rest of the 2025 calendar and want more where that came from.

Main Image: Andrew Redington