Tears and cheers as Matsuyama victory thrills Japan

Justin Thomas looks unbeatable for the first 15 holes, but the wind seems to catch up to him (as it did everyone else) as he struggles over the final three. When it counts, though, and under the most extreme pressure, he birdies the 18th hole twice in three tries in the playoff, dusting off first Patrick Reed and then defending champion Xander Schauffele. With his 12th PGA TOUR win, Thomas moves into pole position in the FedExCup. He also slides into third place behind only Tiger Woods (34) and Jack Nicklaus (20) for most wins before age 27 over the last 60 years. Oh, and he’s the first TOUR winner of the new decade. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. Thomas regrouped. The ending was topsy-turvy, with first Thomas and then Schauffele failing to secure the win after having one hand on the trophy on the 18th hole in regulation. The first unforced error was Thomas’ crazy second shot that wound up in the penalty area, leading to a bogey 6. He later called the hole “just a disaster.� Then came Schauffele’s inability to two-putt from roughly 35 feet, his first effort trickling some seven feet past the pin. “I should have won the tournament. I know it. Everyone knows it.� Out came Patrick Reed to join them in a playoff, but it was Thomas who regrouped better than either of the other two, making two birdies in the three times he was forced to play the 18th in overtime. 2. He was a mid-round superstar. How good were Thomas’ four straight birdies from holes 8-11 at windy Kapalua as he took control of the tournament? His tee shot at the par-3 11th was the closest to the pin all day, and he was the only one to even get within 10 feet. But maybe it’s best to let playing partner Xander Schauffele put the winner’s mid-round hot streak in context. “It was windy,� Schauffele said. “That stretch of holes J.T. went 4- or 5-under, I’d like to see anyone else try it. He was hitting ridiculous shots, making good putts in the wind…�  3. He is Mr. Hawaii. “For some reason I was supposed to win this week,� Thomas said. Maybe that reason is he is imminently comfortable playing in Hawaii, where since 2015 he is 131 under par in the two official TOUR events there. Next best: Jimmy Walker at 93 under. Thomas was a ball-striking machine at Kapalua, ranking second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, SG: Approach-the-Green, and Proximity to the Hole. He was third in Greens in Regulation. OBSERVATIONS  Wind golf is hard. Of his three-putt on the last hole of regulation, Schauffele said, “I got gusted.� What he meant was his first effort, from about 35 feet, seemed to get blown about seven feet past the hole, leaving a tricky comebacker, which he missed. “I guess I’ll have to work on some wind-putting,� he said. He wasn’t the only one. Patrick Reed also used the “gusted� term in his post-round remarks. “Unfortunately I had two putts really to close it, and one of them got gusted on,� Reed said, “and then this last one, with the wind and the break, just got me again.� Thomas, Spieth neck and neck. Friends, competitors and co-valedictorians for the Class of 2011, Thomas and Spieth have drawn several comparisons. Here are two more: With his 12th win, Thomas takes a slim lead over Spieth (11), who once enjoyed a sizeable lead. Also, Thomas made seven birdies in the final round, which was his 54th round with seven or more birdies on TOUR since 2015. He is second only to, yes, Spieth (55).   QUOTEBOARD “I know it’s hard, but I made it about five times as hard as it needed to be.� – Justin Thomas, after prevailing despite a bogey 6 on the last hole of regulation. “Just sort of a rookie move trying to close out a tournament.� – Xander Schauffele on his three-putt at the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff with Thomas and Reed. “I was 8 under through 21 holes, so it was great golf as a whole.� – Patrick Reed (66, T2), who lost to Thomas on the third hole of the playoff.  SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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Mackenzie Hughes … It’s probably an insult to drop him in here, but the 29-year-old from Canada hasn’t qualified for a World Golf Championship since the 2017 edition of this event when it was held at Firestone Country Club’s South Course. His most recent three starts include a T3 at the Travelers Championship, where he led the field in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, and T6 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, where he paced the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. Looping in a runner-up finish at The Honda Classic in what was his last start before the hiatus, all three of his top-45 finishes this season are top sixes. He’s also missed 10 of 17 cuts, but that can’t happen this week, so the promise of 72 holes plays into his firepower. Matt Jones … This is the Aussie’s first appearance in a World Golf Championship in four years. He qualified for this week’s with a victory at the Emirates Australian Open in December. Aside from the hiatus, it’s been a largely quiet 2020, but a T5 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and a T14 at the Workday Charity Open are timely highlights. In the latter at Muirfield Village, he flashed confidence around and on the greens. Now he settles into a site where he went 4-for-5 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic from 2015-2018 with a T3, a T18 and a scoring average of 69.125. Joel Dahmen … Given his consistently strong form over time, it’s a little hard to believe that this marks his debut in a World Golf Championship. It’s not his first look at TPC Southwind, or his second. As a PGA TOUR rookie in 2017, the native of Washington State placed T18 in the FedEx St. Jude Classic. It was one of only two top 40s in 16 starts that season. His propensity to keep his ball in play off the tee keeps his options open on approach. A moxie evidenced with the ability to connect low rounds all the while maximizing course management support why he’s dangerous in a limited-field event with no cut. While Muirfield Village knocked him around in six rounds earlier this month, he’s already hung up a pair of top 20s in the restart. For the season, the 32-year-old has four top 10s among eight top 20s. Shaun Norris … The 38-year-old South African has only eight PGA TOUR starts under his belt and he didn’t crack the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time until October of 2018, but he’s figured out how to retain positioning at this level. Even after early struggles on the Japan Golf Tour in 2019, he regrouped to finish second in the Order of Merit for the second straight season. He’s won once in each of his four years on that circuit, and he led the JGTO in putts per GIR last year. Opened 2020 by going 5-for-5 worldwide with a T6 in Abu Dhabi and a T18 in Oman. In between, his T37 at the WGC-Mexico Championship registered as his career-best finish in PGA TOUR competition. Robert MacIntyre … The lefty was the last of the 15 additional qualifiers via the Official World Golf Ranking on July 20 to construct a field of 78. His T6 at The Open Championship in 2019 punctuated a seriously strong season en route to the Rookie of the Year award on the European Tour. He didn’t win but he finished second three times and totaled seven top 10s, and then opened 2020 with a T8 in Dubai. The Scot will turn 24 on the Monday following the conclusion of the WGC-St. Jude. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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The final round of the U.S. Open was anything but boring. As it unfolded, it was hard to imagine what might happen next.

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