And boy, did it deliver.

Matt Fitzpatrick, a winner at Harbour Town three years ago, held a four-shot lead on the back-nine Sunday and found himself in a playoff with Scottie Scheffler after Fitzpatrick failed to get up and down for par on the 72nd hole. Scheffler birdied Nos. 15 and 16 to head to 18 one back and made par to get into sudden death. But Fitzpatrick, somehow, gathered himself, hit a laser iron approach from 204 to 13 feet in the playoff and made birdie to win this, his second RBC title and second PGA Tour title of the year following the Valspar Championship victory.

Fitzpatrick captured $3.6 million from the overall $20 million purse. He and his wife Katherine are expecting their first child this year. Now Fitzpatrick, who will move to No. 3 in the world, and his brother Alex are going to play together next week at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

Scheffler will have to wait until another day to collect PGA Tour victory No. 21 and has now finished in second place in back-to-back weeks after being only one behind Rory McIlroy last week at the Masters.

Prize money payout at Harbour Town

WIN: Matt Fitzpatrick, -18/266, $3.6 million

P-2: Scottie Scheffler, -18/266, $2.16 million

3: Si Woo Kim, -16/268, $1.36 million

T-4: Collin Morikawa, -13/271, $823,333.31

T-4: Harris English, -13/271, $823,333.31

T-4: Ludvig Aberg, -13/271, $823,333.31

7: Bud Cauley, -12/272, $665,000

T-8: Rickie Fowler, -11/273, $555,000

T-8: Kurt Kitayama, -11/273, $555,000

T-8: Patrick Cantlay, -11/273, $555,000

T-8: Gary Woodland, -11/273, $555,000

T-12: Keegan Bradley, -10/274, $399,250

T-12: Matt McCarty, -10/274, $399,250

T-12: Xander Schauffele, -10/274, $399,250

T-12: Steven Fisk, -10/274, $399,250

T-16: Jordan Smith, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Maverick McNealy, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Wyndham Clark, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Akshay Bhatia, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Sam Burns, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Ryan Fox, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Patrick Rodgers, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Pierceson Coody, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-16: Andrew Novak, -9/275, $256,694.44

T-25: Michael Kim, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: Chris Gotterup, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: Sahith Theegala, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: J.J. Spaun, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: Russell Henley, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: Cameron Young, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: Aldrich Potgieter, -8/276, $142,750

T-25: Brian Harman, -8/276, $142,750

T-33: Michael Thorbjornsen, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Ryan Gerard, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Ben Griffin, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Adam Schenk, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Jordan Spieth, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Karl Vilips, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Jacob Bridgeman, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Chandler Blanchet, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-33: Joe Highsmith, -7/277, $92,444.45

T-42: Sepp Straka, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Sungjae Im, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Daniel Berger, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Andrew Putnam, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Michael Brennan, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Shane Lowry, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Robert MacIntyre, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Lucas Glover, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Jason Day, -6/278, $55,300

T-42: Viktor Hovland, -6/278, $55,300

T-52: Garrick Higgo, -5/279, $43,500

T-52: Tommy Fleetwood, -5/279, $43,500

T-52: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, -5/279, $43,500

T-55: Sami Valimaki, -4/280, $39,600

T-55: William Mouw, -4/280, $39,600

T-55: Nicolai Hojgaard, -4/280, $39,600

T-55: Corey Conners, -4/280, $39,600

T-55: Matt Wallace, -4/280, $39,600

T-60: Ricky Castillo, -3/281, $36,500

T-60: J.T. Poston, -3/281, $36,500

T-60: Ryo Hisatsune, -3/281, $36,500

T-60: Nick Taylor, -3/281, $36,500

T-60: Min Woo Lee, -3/281, $36,500

T-65: Denny McCarthy, -2/282, $34,250

T-65: Harry Hall, -2/282, $34,250

T-65: Alex Noren, -2/282, $34,250

T-65: Sam Stevens, -2/282, $34,250

T-69: Max Homa, -1/283, $33,125

T-69: Johnny Keefer, -1/283, $33,125

T-71: Taylor Pendrith, E/284, $32,500

T-71: Tom Hoge, E/284, $32,500

T-71: David Lipsky, E/284, $32,500

T-74: Jhonattan Vegas, +2/286, $31,750

T-74: Austin Smotherman, +2/286, $31,750

T-74: Jake Knapp, +2/286, $31,750

T-77: Justin Thomas, +3/287, $31,000

T-77: Brian Campbell, +3/287, $31,000

T-77: Marco Penge, +3/287, $31,000

80: Billy Horschel, +5/289, $30,500

81: Nico Echavarria, +6/290, $30,250

82: Tony Finau, +11/295, $30,000

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Matt Fitzpatrick could argue that the term “momentum” is a concoction of sportswriters and broadcasters to otherwise explain how an athlete’s brain and body somehow click together in a way that sustains a bit of success.

Watch the 2026 RBC Heritage LIVE

“It’s funny,” Fitzpatrick was saying on Saturday at the RBC Heritage. “I remember having a conversation with [well-known coach] Phil Kenyon that effectively momentum doesn’t actually exist. It’s probably psychological, isn’t it.”

Whatever “it” is, the 31-year-old Englishman is experiencing it both this week at Harbour Town and over the last month of the PGA Tour season. Fitzpatrick lost a close battle in the Players Championship, rebounded one week later with a victory in the Valspar, and now he’s the 54-hole leader in a tournament he loves and has already won.

On Saturday, the 2022 U.S. Open champion recovered from a rocky front nine by twice holing out from off the green on his inward route to shoot three-under-par 68. In taking a three-shot lead, he also earned a Sunday pairing with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who fired the day’s low score of 64 to move up 12 spots.

Fitzpatrick will be trying to win his fourth PGA Tour title and follow up his 2023 playoff victory over Jordan Spieth in the RBC. Scheffler is gunning for tour win No. 21 and his second of the season after opening the year with a victory in The American Express and a runner-up in last week’s Masters.

As usual, the leaderboard for the $20 million tour signature event is tightly packed, with nine players behind Fitzpatrick who are five shots or closer to the lead.

It didn’t look like Fitzpatrick had any shot to get a sizeable lead when he bogeyed two of the first three holes and stood at two over for the round through 8.

“The bogeys that I made today, I didn’t feel like I kind of hit it off the planet and I was scrambling and stuff,” he said. “I just felt that they were holes that I didn’t really make my par on, and I felt like I was making good enough swings to make a turnaround on the back nine. Obviously, some nice momentum with the hole-outs on 14 and 15.”

There, he used it: the word momentum. Fitzpatrick birdied the ninth and 12th and then putted in a 27-footer from off the green at the par-3 14th, followed by a chip-in from 29 feet at 15.

“I guess that is momentum,” he said, “when you’re feeling good with the putter, when you’re feeling good with the driver, with your irons, you make a birdie, you hit it close, the next hole, you’ve got the same number you hit that to, you’re feeling comfortable; that’s the momentum, isn’t it, I guess.”

A year ago at this time, Fitzpatrick was struggling to find the top level of his game. He missed the cut in three of his first five starts and hadn’t notched anything better than T-22 entering Harbour Town. He managed just a T-38 there but found form with a top-10 finish in the PGA Championship and built on that to notch four consecutive top-10s in the middle of the summer.

Asked to compare the 2025 version of himself versus his current mindset, Fitzpatrick said, “Probably just more nervous. I got myself in this position kind of fairly quickly. I was the last group off maybe on the Saturday at the PGA last year, so that’s only a month later than here. …

“Even just being with my psychologist, telling him feelings and thoughts and stuff, it’s been good because it’s new again. It’s probably different for Scottie and Rory, who are in these positions a lot of the weeks of the year and in contention.”

If pressure is a privilege, Fitzpatrick will face loads of it on Sunday in playing alongside Scheffler. The Brit faced some unruly fan abuse at the Players in trying to outduel American Cameron Young, the eventual winner, and because of that, Fitzpatrick was warmly supported in bouncing back to win in the Valspar. Now he’s facing the top player in the world.

But this is, after all, Harbour Town—where the Fitzpatrick family travelled to when Matt was young, and where his pulling on of the victor’s plaid jacket was enormously popular.

“Yeah, they’ve got to support their guy, and that’s totally fine,” Fitzpatrick said. “As long as they don’t shout in my backswing, then they can do whatever they want. But I have a lot of people that support me this week, as well, and just looking forward to it. Scottie is a great guy and looking forward to playing with him tomorrow.”

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Watch it live — no subscription needed

Justin Thomas – 2025 RBC Heritage – Andrew Redington

Fans across the MENA region can now stream the tournament instantly through Recast, thanks to its partnership with Motivate Media Group.

• No subscriptions
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• Instant access to live coverage
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Simply sign up, choose your stream, and start watching immediately.

Watch the RBC Heritage LIVE here: https://golfdigestme.com/live-golf/

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Watch via Recast HERE

The partnership brings together the reach of Motivate’s media platforms with Recast’s global payment and distribution infrastructure, enabling audiences across MENA to access premium content instantly through flexible pay-per-view and brand-funded models.

Through this collaboration, Motivate will leverage Recast’s technology to distribute third-party sports and entertainment content directly to their audiences, removing traditional barriers such as subscriptions, geographic restrictions, and fragmented access points. PGA TOUR live tournament streams will be available through Motivate Media Group’s Golf Digest and What’s On publications, starting on 16 April, 2026 with The RBC Heritage.

Justin Thomas – 2025 RBC Heritage – Andrew Redington

“Content distribution and audience access are being redefined, and this partnership puts us at the forefront of that shift,” said Anthony Milne, Chief Commercial Officer of Motivate Media Group. “Partnering with Recast allows us to deliver premium sports and entertainment content across our portfolio with instant, on-demand pay-per-view access, expanding our content offering, enhancing the audience experience, and unlocking new revenue.”

As demand for premium content continues to grow globally, audiences increasingly expect flexible, affordable access to the moments that matter most – without limitations impacted by licensing complexity, long-term subscription commitments or geo-based platform restrictions.

Recast addresses these challenges by unifying payments, content access, and distribution into a single infrastructure – enabling content to be accessed instantly and monetised in real time at the moment of demand.

“Audiences increasingly expect to access premium content instantly, wherever they discover it,” said Andy Meikle, Founder & CEO of Recast. “Motivate is enabling that directly within its publisher environments, turning demand into instant access, with fans able to watch and pay in the moment, without subscriptions or friction. We’re excited to connect global rights holders like PGA TOUR, and others with scaled media reach across MENA, expanding distribution and unlocking new revenue streams.”

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Justin Thomas and Andrew Novak, two men desperate for a win for different reasons, went overtime at the RBC Heritage with Thomas emerging the victor after dropping a 21-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, his fifth make from outside 20 feet for the week and, according to Thomas afterwards, the first walkoff putt of his career.

RELATED: JT drains clutch playoff putt to capture RBC Heritage

The pair were tied at 16 under par through 14 holes. It was Thomas, however, who took the lead at the par-5 15th with a 24-footer after laying up from the waste area with his second shot—a play that epitomises the type of thinking required to win at Harbour Town Golf Links. Novak, however, knotted things up with a birdie of his own at 16 leading to the playoff.

Thomas relied on a hot putter all week (including during an opening-round 61). He was second in strokes gained/putting and fourth in putts per GIR with his Scotty Cameron by Titleist Phantom 5 tour prototype putter. Thomas picked up nearly six shots on the field on the greens.

Into the greens, Thomas ranked seventh in strokes gained/approach—a handy stat to do well in considering Harbour Town’s tiny greens. Thomas uses a split set of Titleist irons, utilising the company’s T200 for his 4-iron, T100 for his 5-iron then a one-off 621 JT blade made just for him for the rest. The key: no offset. Not a little. None.

“They look different from everyone else’s irons,” Thomas told Golf Digest a couple years ago. “It’s such a clean look from the shaft down to the hosel down to the clubhead. I will say that when I’m not hitting it well those irons look pretty difficult to hit, but it’s a great look.”

It’s been nearly three years since Thomas last won at the 2022 PGA Championship. Perhaps it’s a testament to his immense skills that golf fans and Thomas alike have been disappointed in his play since, despite the fact he’s banked more than $11 million in that time—not exactly Chopper McGee territory.

But $3.6 million for one week’s work is so much better.

What Justin Thomas had in the bag at the 2025 RBC Heritage

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Driver: Titleist GT2 (Mitsubishi Diamana prototype), 10 degrees

3-wood: Titleist TS3, 15 degrees

5-woood: Titleist 915Fd, 18 degrees

Irons (4): Titleist T200; (5): Titleist T100; (6-9): Titleist 621.JT

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (47.5, 52.5, 57 degrees); Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks (60.5 degrees)

Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist Phantom 5 tour prototype

RELATED: Justin Thomas’ list of course records on the PGA Tour is insane

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During Thursday’s opening round, Thomas’ 61 tied the course record at Harbour Town Golf Links. And that’s something the two-time major champ has gotten used to doing during his career.

Golf Channel made note of that during Friday’s coverage by posting the following graphic detailing all the course records that Thomas holds at least a share of. And it’s pretty remarkable. See for yourself:

https://twitter.com/pmcdonaldCBS/status/1913348277715578950

Absurd is right. That’s NINE course records. Just on the PGA Tour. During official competition. Insane. Who knows how many other courses he’s gone low at during more low-key rounds. And from Harbour Town to TPC Sawgrass to Winged Foot, it’s a who’s who of golf courses. Those nine course records might be more impressive than his 16 PGA Tour titles.

In any event, Justin Thomas is back in the winner’s circle—but he never left doing what he does best. So, if you’ve got a course record at a venue hosting a PGA Tour event this year, good luck keeping it with this guy around.

READ: Renato Paratore wins back-to-back HotelPlanner Tour titles in Al Ain

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Thomas started the week with an opening round 61, then posted a 68 in the final round to finish at 17-under 267. But it was a 18-foot birdie putt in the first extra hole that sealed the victory.

Justin Thomas drains clutch playoff putt to capture RBC Heritage, returning to winner’s circle

With the win, Thomas collected a first-place prize money payout of $3.6 million from the $20 million purse in the PGA Tour signature event.

Here’s the rundown of what each player will earn this week in South Carolina.

Win: Justin Thomas, 267/-17, $3,600,000

P-2: Andrew Novak, 267/-17, $2,160,000

T-3: Daniel Berger, 270/-14, $960,000

T-3: Brian Harman, 270/-14, $960,000

T-3: Mackenzie Hughes, 270/-14, $960,000

T-3: Maverick McNealy, 270/-14, $960,000

7: Tommy Fleetwood, 271/-13, $670,000

T-8: Russell Henley, 272/-12, $580,000

T-8: Si Woo Kim, 272/-12, $580,000

T-8: Scottie Scheffler, 272/-12, $580,000

T-11: Sungjae Im, 273/-11, $480,000

T-11: J.T. Poston, 273/-11, $480,000

T-13: Sam Burns, 274/-10, $364,000

T-13: Patrick Cantlay, 274/-10, $364,000

T-13: Cam Davis, 274/-10, $364,000

T-13: Viktor Hovland, 274/-10, $364,000

T-13: Sepp Straka, 274/-10, $364,000

T-18: Keegan Bradley, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Eric Cole, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Ryo Hisatsune, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Tom Hoge, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Chris Kirk, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Shane Lowry, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Xander Schauffele, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Jordan Spieth, 275/-9, $226,056

T-18: Sami Valimaki, 275/-9, $226,056

T-27: Wyndham Clark, 276/-8, $140,200

T-27: Ryan Gerard, 276/-8, $140,200

T-27: Max Greyserman, 276/-8, $140,200

T-27: Billy Horschel, 276/-8, $140,200

T-27: Davis Thompson, 276/-8, $140,200

T-32: Brian Campbell, 277/-7, $109,083

T-32: Bud Cauley, 277/-7, $109,083

T-32: Thomas Detry, 277/-7, $109,083

T-32: Austin Eckroat, 277/-7, $109,083

T-32: Stephan Jaeger, 277/-7, $109,083

T-32: Matt Kuchar, 277/-7, $109,083

T-38: Byeong Hun An, 278/-6, $86,250

T-38: Tony Finau, 278/-6, $86,250

T-38: Matt Fitzpatrick, 278/-6, $86,250

T-38: Aaron Rai, 278/-6, $86,250

T-42: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 279/-5, $64,143

T-42: Akshay Bhatia, 279/-5, $64,143

T-42: Matthieu Pavon, 279/-5, $64,143

T-42: Taylor Pendrith, 279/-5, $64,143

T-42: Patrick Rodgers, 279/-5, $64,143

T-42: Justin Rose, 279/-5, $64,143

T-42: J.J. Spaun, 279/-5, $64,143

T-49: Corey Conners, 280/-4, $48,000

T-49: Jason Day, 280/-4, $48,000

T-49: Denny McCarthy, 280/-4, $48,000

T-49: Adam Scott, 280/-4, $48,000

T-49: Nick Taylor, 280/-4, $48,000

T-54: Ludvig Åberg, 281/-3, $44,500

T-54: Michael Kim, 281/-3, $44,500

T-54: Collin Morikawa, 281/-3, $44,500

T-54: Sam Stevens, 281/-3, $44,500

T-54: Karl Vilips, 281/-3, $44,500

T-54: Cameron Young, 281/-3, $44,500

T-54: Will Zalatoris, 281/-3, $44,500

T-61: Jacob Bridgeman, 282/-2, $41,500

T-61: Lucas Glover, 282/-2, $41,500

T-61: Adam Hadwin, 282/-2, $41,500

T-61: Min Woo Lee, 282/-2, $41,500

T-61: Gary Woodland, 282/-2, $41,500

T-66: Harris English, 283/-1, $39,750

T-66: Robert MacIntyre, 283/-1, $39,750

68: Rickie Fowler, 284/E, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, 285/+1, $38,000

70: Max Homa, 286/+2, $37,500

71: Nick Dunlap, 290/+6, $37,000

72: Joe Highsmith, 291/+7, $36,000

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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.

Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2025 RBC Heritage

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:

WALK-OFF WINNER!

Euphoria for @JustinThomas34! pic.twitter.com/PzxhmmIhVA

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 2025

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.

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Justin Thomas admits that he didn’t play well last week at the Masters. The World No. 8 was derailed mostly by a third-round 76 that helped him end in a tie for 36th place.

After using a couple days to work and reset, Thomas came out firing Thursday during the first round of the RBC Heritage, shooting a 10-under 61 to tie the Harbour Town course record and take the lead. It’s the second time in a month that Thomas has made 11 birdies in a round, following the second round of the Players Championship when he shot 62.

Scottie Scheffler, the 2024 RBC champ, and Russell Henley are tied for second, three shots back, after shooting 64.

“I feel like I didn’t do anything crazy,” Thomas said. “I just drove the ball well, which is very, very important out here, and I felt like it was just one of those days I put the ball in a spot that I had a lot of good numbers. I had a lot of kind of full wedges to where—although you have to be a little conservative at times out here, I felt like they were kind of pins and angles and everything that I could be a little aggressive and just kind of got rolling with it.”

The record-tying round even included a bogey. After making six birdies on the first nine holes to shoot 30, Thomas bogeyed the 10th then made five birdies in a six-hole stretch from Nos. 12-17. His best shot of the day, according to him, was a laser 8-iron from 182 yards into the 18th green that ended inside six feet. But he missed the birdie putt that woudl’ve given him the course record outright.

Fiery start in Harbour Town @JustinThomas34 ties the course record with a 61 @RBC_Heritage! pic.twitter.com/5644tQ2tlp

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 17, 2025

“I wish we played more places like it,” Thomas said. “I think more architects should design places like this. It kind of stands of test of time, I think. Especially if we continue to get weather like this and if these fairways get firm, the greens are already getting firm, it’s going to be everything we want by the end of the week.”

A year ago Scheffler entered here off a second Masters win and dominated Harbour Town, thanks in large part to a third-round 63. On Thursday he made six birdies in his first 10 holes, then only made one more over the remaining eight holes.

He stopped short of saying anything about his first-round 64 this year was easy, but it was the lowest opening round score he’s shot since the 2023 Travellers Championship, which he did not win. Scheffler is still looking for his first victory this year.

“Did it feel easy,” Scheffler said in response to a question. “Easy would not be—I think definitely like a less stressful round. I felt like if you compared my four rounds last week to today, today would be a much less stressful round of golf in terms of scrambling for a par. A lot of the stuff I had to do last week I felt like I didn’t have to do today to shoot a good score. The golf course is obviously a bit different, but I was in position most of the day today. I hit a lot of really iron shots. I got off to a good start. Overall, yeah, fairly, I would say, stress-free day.”

Main Image: David Berding

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From his first win on the PGA Tour to his 10th, he needed just 50 starts, which is faster than a relative slowpoke named Tiger Woods. He unlocked that achievement on Monday morning at the weather-delayed RBC Heritage, playing the final three holes in one over—including a safe bogey on 18, which was his first hole over par since the second hole on Thursday—to secure his latest win in a stretch so scintillating that it’s becoming harder and harder to describe.

How about this: He’s the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win the Masters and then win the following week. He’s also the first since Woods in 2006 (PGA Championship, WGC-Bridgestone) to win the week after any major victory.

That may sound like a musty historical stat without much meaning, until you start to understand the mental strength it signifies. Winning a major is supposed to be a mentally taxing event, particularly at the end of a stretch of big wins like Scheffler had pulled off, from Bay Hill to the Players.

On Thursday, when he made his double bogey on the second, it seemed like he may be experiencing a hangover at long last. Instead, he put the mistake in the past, torched Harbour Town for a 65 and 63 on Friday and Saturday, and then cruised to a 68 in his interrupted final round, winning by a comfortable three-shot margin.

Forget his actual physical ability; this guy is a psychological fortress.

“I think mentally the last month or so has been as good as I’ve been in a long time,” he said after he finished on Monday. “And I think that’s why I’m seeing some of the results, just staying in it doing the best I can…a lot of that stuff is easier said than done, but I’m proud of how I’ve been mentally the last bit.”

He has become such a consummate winner that he didn’t even need his “usual prep work” heading into the Heritage; he had plenty of fuel in the tank to eventually lap the rest of the field. That’s what happens when you lead everyone in two separate Strokes Gained categories—off the tee and approach—and stay above average in putting, aka the patented Scheffler Victory Formula.

About that field … there was some terrific golf being played, even though so much of it felt irrelevant in Scheffler’s shadow. It wasn’t irrelevant; at least not to them. Sahith Theegala, bunched up with several others at 15 under at the start of the morning, came out and made a critical birdie on 16 to separate himself from the pack and secure a solo second-place finish. J.T. Poston went the other way after opting to wait to finish the 18th on Sunday night; he missed a five-footer for par on the green, and dropped to 14 under, leaving Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark in a tie for third at 15 under. Poston finished in a tie for fifth with Justin Thomas, Patrick Rodgers, and Scheffler’s final round partner Sepp Straka.

But Scheffler once again towered over them all, and perhaps the only man higher than him all week was his caddie Ted Scott, who was literally higher when he leapt into the air on the 18th green expecting a chest bump from Scheffler, only for his player to stay planted to the ground, watching him with a mystified grin. Scott should recover easily from this temporary embarrassment; if you assume normal pay rates, Digest’s Jamie Kennedy calculated that he’s made more than Rory McIlroy this year.

Taking flight @JTedScott pic.twitter.com/ncavxujN8b

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 22, 2024

Those are the perks of working with the best player in the world—a title that, nice as it sounds, might not be descriptive enough for what Scheffler has accomplished. At age 27, on the verge of being a father, he’s somehow surpassed merely being first among contemporaries; at this point, it’s no longer controversial to argue that he’s the best we’ve seen since Woods himself.

Image: Andrew Redington

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