Justin Thomas outlasts friend Jordan Spieth at Dell Technologies Championship

NORTON, Mass. – For a second straight week, a FedExCup Playoffs event had slipped out of Jordan Spieth’s hands, but save your curiosities about his state of mind. “Things are in good shape,� he said, shrugging off his second runner-up in two weeks. Last week to Dustin Johnson, Monday to Justin Thomas at the Dell Technologies Championship on a sun-splashed, warm and breezy day at TPC Boston. He could have bemoaned the repetitive disappointment, but instead, Spieth saluted a sense of familiarity that provides great pleasure – the latest battle with Thomas. One pairing ahead of Thomas, Spieth finally got a chance to cross paths at the end. He congratulated Thomas, who had just made par at the 18th hole to wrap up a tidy 5-under 66 for 17-under 267, three clear of Spieth. “We grew up together,� said Spieth, responding to a question about this closeness with a competitor. “You grow up and you watch each other work from when you’re 14. He’s one of my best friends inthe whole world.� On the other end of the hug, Thomas conceded he appreciated the best wishes, but acknowledged that it was Spieth’s early success (a win in ’13, five more in ’15) that stoked his competitive juices. “Any time any of my friends wins and I don’t, I’m extremely happy for them, I’m pumped for them,� Thomas said. “But I’m jealous.� With his fifth win of the year and sixth in his young career, Thomas is closing the gap (Spieth owns three wins this year, 11 in all). Not that their rivalry needs fuel, but there is this: It is Spieth who remains No. 1 in the FedExCup standings, with Thomas second. It sets up a great backdrop to the next two Playoffs events – the BMW Championship in two weeks, followed by the TOUR Championship – but for now, it’s best to savor what took place Monday. As sure as the letter R remains silent in these parts, it’s wild how this annual gathering at TPC Boston concludes with a Monday show that is a salute to the ideals that we hold dear on Labor Day. Strength: Incredibly deep field that spit out leaderboards dotted by marquee names. Prosperity: An opportunity to pile up red numbers on the outward nine. Laws: Mix up the names, alter the weather, but in the end, you get a strap-your-seatbelt back nine that is part Newman and Redford, and part Sinatra and Bennett. The best. It was 10 years ago when a guy named Phil Mickelson closed with 66 to beat a guy named Tiger Woods and his 67 and the hits have just kept coming. Rory McIlroy rallied with a fourth-round 67 to edge Louis Oosthuizen in ’12 and a year later Henrik Stenson’s sizzling 66 overtook Steve Stricker. The year 2015 saw Rickie Fowler finish with 68 to rally past Stenson and last year was vintage McIlroy – out in 31, a neat 65 in all, he stormed to a win that put in motion his FedExCup title. Topping McIlroy’s outward brilliance might have seemed improbable, yet there was even more electricity. Spieth – two behind the co-leaders, Thomas and Marc Leishman – started birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie. Leishman answered with four birdies in five holes. Thomas, who birdied the par-5 second and slam-dunked a 50-foot eagle putt at the par-4 second, seemed to be stunned that his 3-under start left him chasing. “Patience,� stressed Thomas’ veteran caddie, Jimmy Johnson. “This is a marathon.� Out in 30, Leishman led at 18-under. Spieth (30) and Thomas (32) were two back. But if it was an ill-timed wild tee shot left at the 10th that set Leishman into the background with three straight bogeys and an inward 40, it was a pair of declarative wedge shots by Thomas – 8 feet at the 13th, 5 feet at the 15th – and a gut-check up-and-down from left of the par-3 16th green that highlighted the latest installment in this rivalry between two special young golfers. It was an AJGA Junior All-Star tournament in Mansfield, Texas, when Spieth, 13, and Thomas, 14, first chased one another to the finish. “He came up and introduced himself on the range. I thought that was cool,� Thomas said. Spieth went 68-71 to win, Thomas was 68-76 for second and likely none of us realized the chapters that would unfold. AJGA for a few seasons, an unforgettable NCAA Championship in 2012 when Spieth pulled off some miracles to beat Thomas and give Texas a title, and now this hard-to-script stuff on the PGA TOUR. “Great memory,� said Spieth of that epic Riviera match. “I’ll have that one on him every time we’re there.� But five years later, their pro careers appear on a similar trajectory. That is quite all right with Spieth – who fell behind with bogeys at the par-4 12th and par-4 14th and managed just one birdie on the back as he shot 67. “We can share experiences with each other that we can’t really describe or explain,� he said. Should things continue in a way that unfolded Monday at the Dell Technologies Championship, Thomas – whose brilliant play included just two bogeys over 72 holes – might just be able to share something else that his friend earned in 2015: A FedExCup title.

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