Through 36 holes at TPC Sawgrass, Justin Thomas shocked many by enjoying himself into competition in simply his second occasion again from again surgical procedure. It took only one gap on Saturday, nonetheless, to again off the entrance web page of the Players leaderboard.
Thomas, who returned to the PGA Tour final week with a pair of 79s at Bay Hill, entered this weekend at eight beneath par. He was nonetheless at that quantity and simply three photographs off the lead when he arrived on the sixth gap. Then, catastrophe struck.
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The par 4 shouldn’t be often known as one of many Stadium Course’s most troublesome holes, however it has it is most controversial tree: a dangling oak that hangs over the tee field. And one which was simply replanted forward of the 2025 event after the unique got here down in a 2014 storm. After what occurred through the third spherical, we’re guessing Thomas wished it had by no means come again.
The 16-time PGA Tour winner yanked his drive left and right into a penalty space. Then after a drop, he could not get his ball again within the fairway. Same together with his fourth shot. Eventually, JT needed to sneak a four-footer within the aspect of the cup to avoid wasting a triple bogey that knocked him out of competition. Here’s his tee shot that led to the seven:
And this is how the whole gap performed out on TourForged:
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Minutes later, NBC’s Kevin Kisner, a runner-up on the 2015 Players, was requested concerning the tree.
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“You should be able to keep it under with just about any club, but it’s still always in the back of your mind,” Kevin Kisner mentioned with a chuckle. “And it’s not a long hole. It’d be something different if it was a 500-yard par 4, it’d be way more difficult. But it’s not a long hole, they give you plenty of opions off the tee and give you a lot of room to hit a shot underneath it.”
During a follow spherical earlier within the week, Ben Griffin experimented with taking a distinct method to the tee shot:
Clearly, it is a tough tree that will get within the gamers’ heads as Kisner mentioned. And as ticked as Thomas needed to be about making triple, someplace, Pete Dye was in all probability smiling.
UPDATE: Credit to Thomas for making an incredible bounceback. After the triple, he shot three beneath the remainder of means and is within the prime 5 coming into Sunday.
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