Mar 14, 2025; Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA; Justin Thomas hits off of the ninth tee during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images
March 15 – Justin Thomas came within one par of breaking the TPC Sawgrass course record on Friday at The Players Championship — but a water ball on the final hole led to a bogey and the two-time major champion settled for a 10-under-par 62 and a share of the mark.
Tom Hoge shot the first 62 at Sawgrass in the third round of the 2023 Players, when Thomas happened to be his playing partner. Flash forward to Friday, when Thomas — who was in danger of missing the cut following an opening-round 78 — was one errant shot from turning in the first 61.
Despite his tough finish, Thomas was proud of his outing.
“That was one of the best rounds I’ve played, for sure,” said Thomas, now 4 under par for the tournament and tied for 29th, seven behind leaders Min Woo Lee of Australia and Akshay Bhatia.
Thomas birdied 11 of his first 17 holes Friday without a bogey. He made a dramatic, 18 1/2-foot birdie putt at the Stadium Course’s famed par-3 17th hole that slowly broke from right to left.
But after hitting his tee shot at No. 18 into the right-side rough, Thomas’ recovery attempt rolled off the fairway and into the water.
The ensuing penalty stroke made it nearly impossible for him to make the par save necessary to break the course record, but Thomas gave it his all, sticking his pitch shot inside 2 feet to set up a tap-in for bogey.
“I just wanted to make another birdie, and then once I missed the fairway, birdie is kind of out of the question,” Thomas said. “And then I was trying to hit something short of the green there and the rough grabbed the face enough to have it shoot out straight left, and with the momentum of that ball, it’s obviously going in the water.
“But I very easily could have hit it where I wanted to, hit a really good pitch or chip and a really good putt and not gone in and made the same score. I’m in no way, shape or form letting that dwell on the great round I had today.”
Thomas set a course record with 11 birdies in a single round. He also tied the tournament record for biggest improvement from round to round by beating his Thursday score by 16 strokes.
Thomas, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since his come-from-behind victory at the 2022 PGA Championship, made the turn Friday in 5-under 31 and then sank four consecutive birdies at Nos. 11-14 to put the record in reach.
“It was just staying present, just focus on what I’m doing, not focusing on what could be, where the ball could go, anything,” Thomas said. “Just step up on 1 tee and I’m trying to hit the fairway. How am I going to hit the fairway and just execute that. Just do it. So on and so forth.
“In my opinion, it’s one of the hardest things to do.”
The round was made all the more impressive by Thomas’ horrendous stretch during the first round. Starting on the back nine, he had three bogeys, two double bogeys and one triple bogey between Nos. 17 and 7.
“I was obviously upset about my score. The score sucked. It was absolutely terrible in every way, shape, or form. But it was a fluke. It was the worst driving and iron play I’ve had, I think, probably in a round in my career. In a year that I’ve been playing some pretty good golf, I would say throwing that out, it’s an understatement. But I was way more frustrated and upset with how I was mentally.”
–Field Level Media
