Homa completes remarkable ascent with 1st win

It was vintage Tiger Woods during the third round of The Open at Carnoustie firing a 5 under 66, the first major he’s started with 3 straight rounds at par or better since the 2012 Open at Royal Lytham.

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Justin Thomas has won 14 times on the PGA TOUR. For 13 of those 14 wins — including the 2017 PGA Championship and his most recent victory, this season’s PLAYERS Championship — JT used the same putter: a Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5.5. Seems logical he’d continue to do so, right? Well, that’s what one outspoken 15-year-old golfer thought as well. Now, we could go down the rabbit hole of discussing the times Thomas has gone in a different direction on the flatstick front, including, most recently, swapping his Phantom X 5.5 for a Phantom X 5 knuckle neck prototype at the abrdn Scottish Open. But this isn’t a story about trial separations from his beloved, but rather, about the joyful reunion — and the unlikely catalyst for the return: the aforementioned 15-year-old golfer. After his 8-under opening round at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Thomas told a fantastic story about how his “gamer” made its way back into his bag this week. Thomas told reporters he was home in Louisville for his AJGA event, the Justin Thomas Junior Championship, and a 15-year-old junior golfer inquired about the putter Thomas was using, asking if he was still using the knuckle neck X 5 prototype. Additionally, it sounds like the junior golfer was using the Scotty Cameron “Inspired by Justin Thomas” Phantom X 5.5 the company released last year. Regardless, the combination of the question and seeing the putter in the junior’s hands got Thomas’ wheels turning. “I was kind of explaining it, and he’s just like, well, when are you going to start using it again? And I found myself defending myself to this 15-year-old,” Thomas said. “I was like why am I not using this thing? I’ve had a lot of success. It’s not like I’m making a lot of putts with what I have. If you’re putting well, any of us can go out and putt with anything. I don’t know, it kind of hit me. I’m like the kid’s got a point. They designed a putter after it, maybe I should bring it out. When I brought it out, it looked good, it felt good. Again, a lot of familiar feelings with it.” Seems like the right choice so far.

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The RSM Classic is the final PGA TOUR event of the year, bringing the fall schedule to a close in the idyllic seaside setting of Sea Island Resort in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Robert Streb returns to defend last year’s win, the second of his career and second at Sea Island. He’ll have to fend off a top-notch field to collect The RSM hat trick, including plenty of Sea Island residents who are full of local knowledge and hungry to win in front of a home crowd. FIELD NOTES: Scottie Scheffler hopes his hot play — including a course-record 62 in the second round of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open and fourth-place finish in the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba — continues at Sea Island… Each of the last six winners of The RSM Classic are returning… Some of the major champs in the field include Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day, Jimmy Walker, and Webb Simpson, who lost in a playoff at Sea Island in 2019. This is Scott’s debut at Sea Island… Fellow major winners and FedExCup champions in the field include Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson… Tournament host Davis Love III will play once again this year after sitting on the sidelines last season due to a neck injury. Love also is the U.S. captain for the 2022 Presidents Cup… Sponsor exemptions including Vaughn Taylor, Camilo Villegas, Ludvig Adberg and Davis Thompson… Villegas was part of a five-man playoff at the 2016 RSM Classic, which Mackenzie Hughes won after play was extended to Monday because of darkness. Villegas also was the first-round leader at last year’s RSM, eventually finishing T6… Aberg, the world’s third-ranked amateur, is a junior at Texas Tech. He recently played the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, where he opened with back-to-back 68s before fading to T51… Thompson is the son of The RSM Classic’s tournament director, Todd Thompson. Davis represented the United States in this year’s Walker Cup and finished second in the PGA TOUR University ranking. He recently finished T39 at Korn Ferry Tour Q-School to earn guaranteed starts for 2022. He also finished T23 in the 2019 RSM while still an amateur… There are a ton of guys in the field who call Sea Island home including U.S. Ryder Cup team member Harris English, Patton Kizzire, J.T. Poston, Keith Mitchell, Hudson Swafford, and Greyson Sigg. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Sea Island Resort (Seaside), 7,005 yards, par 70; Sea Island Resort (Plantation), 7,060 yards, par 72. Yardage subject to change. Tom Fazio redid the Seaside Course, an oceanside links-style layout, in 1999, while tournament host Davis Love III and his brother Mark redesigned the Plantation Course, which weaves through low-country marshland, for 2019. STORYLINES: The last three RSM Classics have gone into a playoff. In fact, six of the 11 tournaments at Sea Island needed extra holes… Streb became the first two-time winner of The RSM Classic when he won last year. Five of the 10 winners at Sea Island made the tournament their first PGA TOUR victory… This fall has been dominated by international winners, with players from outside the United States winning five of the first seven tournaments of the season… Despite the fact that there are a ton of TOUR pros who call Sea Island home, none have won The RSM Classic… Can Webb Simpson finally win The RSM Classic? The 2018 PLAYERS Champion has had four top-10s at Sea Island, including two playoff losses. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Kevin Kisner (2015) 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Tommy Gainey (4th round, 2012) LAST TIME: Rober Streb won his second PGA TOUR title, six years after he claimed his maiden TOUR victory at Sea Island. Streb took down Kevin Kisner on the second hole of their sudden-death playoff after Streb knocked a wedge to within inches. Streb held the 36- and 54-hole leads and shot a solid 2-under 68 on Sunday. Kisner zipped up the leaderboard with a 7-under 63 – he erased a five-shot deficit by notching five birdies in his first 10 holes Sunday – to finish tied with Streb at 19 under. The breakthrough victory came after nearly a half-decade of struggles for Streb, who had finished outside the top 125 on the FedExCup from 2018 to 2020. Cameron Tringale finished third after a Sunday 62 – the round of the day. Bernd Wiesberger, a member of this year’s European Ryder Cup team, and Andrew Landry rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-4 p.m. (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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