ORLANDO – Make room in the Harmony Landing Country Club display case for another victory golf ball.
Mike Thomas has been collecting balls at the Louisville, Kentucky, golf club where he worked as head professional (and remains pro emeritus) from his son Justin’s victories and other memorable achievements since he was a wee lad. Justin has won 13 PGA Tour titles, including the 2017 PGA Championship, since turning pro.
On Sunday, father and son teamed to make 15 birdies and win the PNC Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Grande Lake by one stroke over Vijay Singh and his son Qass.
“I put it to the side in case if it was the one that got it done,” Justin said of the winning ball. “I’ll be giving it to him whenever I get my hands on my bag.”
PNC CHAMPIONSHIP: Money | Scores
Team Thomas shot 10-under 62 during Saturday’s opening round, but erased a four-stroke deficit with seven consecutive birdies to open the round. As Mike noted, having the No. 3 player in the world as a partner didn’t hurt.
“We kept making birdie after birdie,” Justin Thomas said.
They combined to birdie 10 of the first 11 holes as Justin found something with his driver to set up easy short iron approaches. Mike, 61, who joked that the last time he played a competitive round was with an aluminum shaft, contributed with a hot putter.
“Which made it easy on me,” Justin said. “I probably hit six putts all day.”
As the Thomases played the par-5 18th hole, Justin figured they needed one more birdie.
“I knew the tournament wasn’t over, but I felt like we had won just because of how much fun we had and how well my dad had played,” Justin said.
Short-sided in two, he hit a delicate pitch to 8 feet and let his father take care of the rest.
“I wanted my dad to make that putt so badly,” he said.
They finished with a tournament-best 15-under 57 and 36-hole aggregate of 25-under 119. Team Singh kept it interesting to the end, reeling off nine straight birdies at one point before missing a 30-foot eagle putt at the last that would’ve forced a playoff.
Lee Trevino, 81, the only player to have competed in all 23 PNC Championships, teamed with son Daniel to shoot a 13-under 59 and finish T-3, his best result in this event.
Team Thomas collected $200,000, and became the fourth team to win the PNC Championship in their first start and the first team to win with a father playing as partner.
Jani Thomas, Justin’s mother, caddied for Mike, and she contributed to the team win. While her guys were answering questions from the media, she went and fetched three Coronas with limes to celebrate. Indeed, it was a full family affair at the PNC Championship.
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