Monday Finish: Justin Thomas turns pressure into performance at WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Justin Thomas cruised to an impressive ninth PGA TOUR victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational while Andrew Putnam picked up his very first win in the mountains of Reno at the Barracuda Championship. Welcome to the Monday Finish where Thomas showed his extended family what he could do and Putnam added extra time to his annual family Maui vacation. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1 Justin Thomas has an impressive ability to channel his nerves and turn pressure into performance. Of course we have already seen this on numerous occasions but on Sunday at Firestone Country Club it was clear that Thomas wanted to stay measured, calm, but yet ruthless if need be. With a three-shot lead to start the day he was in a comfortable position game plan-wise. Play it safe at a course that can hurt those who press. He was not going to show an open door to the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jason Day. If they wanted the trophy they would have to come and take it. And no one looked like they would be allowing Thomas to continue his for the most part conservative smart play. But the key part was when some people go into protect mode, they can’t get out of it. Thomas can. And did. Finally, early on the back nine, Kyle Stanley and Day made a mini run – both getting within two of the lead and riding some momentum. Thomas sensed it. He then hits a booming cut of a drive down the 13th hole, knowing both of those players were struggling on the hole. Stanley had already bogeyed it. Thomas watched in the fairway so close Day could probably feel him as he lipped out par from 5 feet. Thomas went for the kill and hit a pristine approach to 10 feet. Made birdie. Big lead restored. Tournament over. Being able to create those moments is what puts Thomas in the top echelon. Read about his emotional win in front of his grandparents here. 2 Dustin Johnson could have done what many players at the back of a WGC event sometimes do on Sundays … he could have conserved energy ahead of the PGA Championship and just cruised around. But the FedExCup leader and world No.1 doesn’t play that way. Instead he put in a charge to ensure he stays No. 1 in both categories — at least a little while longer. Seven birdies in his first 10 holes had everyone thinking sub-60 was on the way but the putts started to edge out on the back nine. Regardless, he catapulted his way all the way to third place and announced himself as one of the clear favorites heading to Bellerive this week. 3 What is the takeaway for Jason Day and Rory McIlroy from Akron? Is it positives after the pair both pushed their way into the mix through three rounds despite having some wonky swings at times? Or are there worries given those wonky swings – which for Day created a two-way miss with the driver and for McIlroy meant another Sunday fade this season. Day knows he didn’t have his best stuff on the weekend but on the bright side he was still able to score. That was the case until late Sunday when he pressed hard and came up empty. His early week in St. Louis will be trying to figure out the tee ball. McIlroy is just not bringing his ‘A’ game under the gun as often anymore. But he’s aware of it and has been grinding hard on his swing also. Sunday was slightly concerning to watch but at the same time either of these two could easily be holding one or more trophies in the coming weeks. 4 Tiger Woods walked away from Firestone South a winner – even after his 73-73 weekend fade in Akron. A fitting final hole birdie from the man who has won eight times at the venue gave the local crowd one more chance at a Tiger roar. At 42, Woods doesn’t have the same stamina he had 18 years ago when he began his dominance at Firestone. But he still pulled in the crowds. It’s a very interesting time for Woods who will play a very heavy schedule for the first time since coming back from his fusion surgery. Woods says his back is fine but age gets us all. And recovery time in the grueling heat could have been a factor in Akron. St. Louis will be sweltering, too. His practice management is going to be critical as he fights to become the first three-time winner of the FedExCup. 5 Good on Andrew Putnam for his win in Reno. Not long ago he went into a final round Sunday pairing with Dustin Johnson tied for the lead at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He was smashed by Johnson. But he sucked in every bit of experience he could from the round. Seeing Johnson’s demeanor. Seeing his poise under pressure. And understanding his own nerves. How his body reacted. He claimed he’d be better for it. And clearly, he was. On Sunday at the Barracuda Championship Putnam stayed calm and found his lane when it came to his own game. Early birdies helped. He didn’t panic after his lone bogey. And he picked off a few more opportunities when they came. Could be a serious game changer for Putnam as he is now 31st in the FedExCup hunting down the TOUR Championship. Read more on his win here. FIVE INSIGHTS 1 Justin Thomas recorded his ninth PGA TOUR win in his 112th career start and eighth win in his last 43 (19%) starts on TOUR. He remains second in the FedExCup but narrowed the deficit to just 147 points behind leader Dustin Johnson. 2 With his win this week, Justin Thomas becomes the third player with three wins on TOUR this season (Bubba Watson & Dustin Johnson). Thomas has now converted six of eight 54-hole leads/co-leads into victories on TOUR (75%). 3 Thomas was stellar on approach and on the greens. A total of 84 percent of Thomas’ total strokes gained for the week were a result of his approach the green and putting performance gaining +3.09 strokes per round in these two categories combined. From the 125- to 150-yard range, Thomas ranked fifth in the field averaging 11 feet, 7 inches in proximity to the hole. From inside 150 yards, Thomas was a combined 11-under par and outperformed the field by +7.31 total strokes on 32 approach shots. He hit 75 percent (54 of 72) of the greens in regulation, hitting 13 or more greens in each round this week (T2). Thomas averaged 25 feet, 2 inches in proximity to the hole on all approach shots, over 6 feet better than the field average. 4 Thomas outperformed the field by +1.174 strokes per round on the greens, making 56 of 56 putts from inside 6 feet. It was the first stroke-play event he has made every putt from within this distance this season. 5 The big movers in the FedExCup were Kyle Stanley – from 40th to 18th, Andrew Putnam – from 55th to 31st and Chad Campbell who went from 161st to 126th to keep his Playoffs hopes alive. Anirban Lahiri jumped from 102nd to 83rd while C.T. Pan made an important jump from 115th to 107th. Vaughn Taylor (119 to 110) and William McGirt (120 to 111) also went closer to shoring up Playoffs berths.

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