Justin Thomas has opened up about the immense relief he felt after clinching the RBC Heritage, his first PGA Tour victory in three years, drawing parallels to Rory McIlroy‘s long-awaited Masters win. The 31-year-old American golfer secured his first Tour win since 2022 on Sunday by edging out Andrew Novak in a tense one-hole playoff in South Carolina.
Despite bagging a second PGA Championship in 2022, Thomas hadn’t managed to capitalise on that triumph until now, finally adding to his trophy cabinet and pocketing a cool £2.7million ($3.6m) prize fund. Speaking of the burden lifted with his latest win, Thomas compared his emotions to those McIlroy must have felt at Augusta.
“It’s obviously incredibly different from Rory’s situation, but there is a little bit of relief there. This was just the me of old. I was just really patient today,” Thomas expressed, according to Jason Sobel of SiriusXM. “It’s so hard to force the issue on a course like this. It’s so fast and so much fun to play. I’m really proud of myself.”
Even faced with the high stakes of a playoff, Thomas confessed he had missed the thrill of victory, yet he aimed to enjoy every moment on the green. “I’ve never made a putt to win a tournament before, of length,” he shared.
“Been fortunate to have a lot of tap-ins but that was pretty cool. It wasn’t as fun as much as I thought it would be,” reports the Express. “Winning is hard, it’s really hard but I’ve worked my butt off and stayed patient and positive,” Thomas proclaimed, reflecting on his triumph.
McIlroy is all set to tee off at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Shane Lowry to defend their title in his first tournament since winning the Masters.
In what has been a phenomenal beginning to the year, the 35-year-old golf sensation has received a bold prediction from Trevor Heaven, the men’s captain at Holywood Golf Club, who believes McIlroy could bag a further five majors.
Rory’s fellow Northern Irishman claimed: “I think it’s a free run over the next couple of years, and he’s so talented that when he turns up to all the golf tournaments, he’s always the favorite. But Rory pushes through the ‘Rory-coaster.’
“He makes us wait but the excitement, the humbleness of the guy, the professionalism of the guy, the homeboy of Holywood, it’s an unbelievable achievement that he’s done, and he’s now a global superstar.”
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