When Justin Thomas handled the formality of things — tapping in his six-inch Elgin Baylor Womens Jersey bogey putt on the 72nd hole, all but clinching the PGA Championship for the first major title of his career — there was a first-things-first moment as he walked off the green.
Thomas immediately sought out his father, Mike, and handed him the golf ball he had just retrieved http://www.offi... from the cup on the 18th hole at Quail Hollow. The two embraced for what seemed like 20 minutes, not 20 seconds, and exchanged a few words.
“Since I know you can edit this, I said, ‘That’s [bleeping] unbelievable,’ ’’ Mike Thomas said afterward, when asked what he said to his son. “It’s a PGA Championship. My dad is a PGA member. I’m a PGA member. It’s a special event.”
Mike Thomas is a PGA professional at Harmony Landing in Goshen, Ky., where he has an impressive display of souvenir golf balls from his son’s ever-growing list of accomplishments.
Yes, this one was special.
For Justin, who two months ago failed to capitalize on the momentum he generated with his [img]http://www.texansonlineofficialstore.com/images/products/nike_nfl_jerseys/n... 63 at the U.S. Open and faltered that Sunday with a final-round 75 that left him in a disappointing tie for ninth.
For Mike Thomas, who is a former member of the PGA board of directors and whose father also is lifetime PGA professional.
For the Thomas’ close friends on the PGA Tour, like Jordan Spieth, with whom he had dinner Saturday night, Rickie Fowler, who made a valiant effort to win his first major Sunday, shooting 67 to finish 5-under, and Bud Cauley, who finished his round when [url=http://www.official76erstore.com/Clarence_Weatherspoon_Jersey]Clarence Weatherspoon Jersey Thomas was starting his.
All three were waiting for Thomas to hug him hard when he walked off the 18th green.
Thomas, shooting a final-round 3-under 68 to finish 8-under and two shots clear of Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen and Francesco Molinari, went out and seized victory after starting the day two shots off the lead and bogeying the first hole.
“I just had this calm about me all day,” Thomas said. “I was a lot more calm than I thought I’d be. I thought I’d be very shaky. That’s why you play. You play for those nerves.”
The win was the 24-year-old’s fourth of the year, most on the PGA Tour this year and seemingly a sure bet to win him PGA Tour Player of the Year
When he was a little kid playing youth golf tournaments, while all of his [url=http://www.official76erstore.com/Dana_Barros_Jersey]http://www.official76er... peers played in shorts, Justin always wore pants.
“Because I always wanted to be a professional golfer, and that’s how the pros dressed,” he told The Post.