NASSAU, Bahamas – Justin Thomas has one last chance to win a tournament in 2024 and he’ll head into the final round with a one-stroke lead over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at the Hero World Challenge.
Thomas carded a bogey-free 6-under 66 at Albany Club on a warm and wind-swept Saturday to improve to 17-under 199.
“I didn’t think I played nearly as well as he had the first two days but it was tough out there and I made a few more putts,” he said.
Thomas struggled mightily with the putter the first two days, ranking last in Strokes Gained: Putting, and joked, “there was only one way to go.”
He reeled off birdies at Nos. 4 and 6 from inside 10 feet and then let his driver do some damage. Using a 46-inch driver this week, he drove the green at the 359-yard seventh to inside 10 feet and two-putted for birdie.
“That was nice,” he said. “I didn’t have to go full go. It was an advantage for me. I felt like I could be in control… Because how the green sits, you can’t see the ball until you get up there so it was nice to see it up there.”
He tacked on a birdie at nine to go out in 32. His next birdie, at No. 14, was an unlikely one. After being out of position off the tee, his pitch ran 47 feet past the hole, but he buried it after recalling something his caddie had said the other day.
“I had a similar thing on Thursday where I hit a bad chip and Rev was, you can still make the putt, you’re fine, that kind of thing. I kind of reminded myself that,” he said.
Justin Thomas from 47 FEET OUT to grab a share of the lead! 📈
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/FnYsUSVSzV
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) December 7, 2024
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Thomas has had a lot of success at the Hero over the years, owning top-five finishes in his four most recent appearances (third/2023, fifth/2022, T-5/2021, T-5/2019). But victory has eluded him at any Tour event since the 2022 PGA Championship.
“I’ve been progressing nicely, been working on all the right things. Feel like I’ve been seeing signs of improvement, which is what you want and that’s all I can do. I can’t control everybody else or what’s going on, I’ve just got to keep playing as good as I possibly can and hope that it’s enough come Sunday,” he said.
If so, that trophy would come from none other than Tiger Woods.
“That would be great. I’ve had a couple opportunities in the past, but it’s definitely something I’d love to check…
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