Justin Thomas was ‘upset.’ On Sunday’s PGA Championship, he found some composure

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Waiting is the hardest part. Justin Thomas knows how that goes. He finished his Sunday round in 3:05 pm and fifth under par. He was the home run leader, the leader among those who had played 72 holes in the 108th PGA Championship. I the leader the leader, at that time, was Matti Schmid, in front of nine and six under the division. A crowd of others were arrested with Thomas at five. Thomas, who won twice in this event, did not leave it. He knew, above all, what not to do:

Do not start drinking.

He learned that for 10 years, as a 23-year-old at the Hartford stop. Thomas shot a final round 62 from the middle-of-the-pack to become the clubhouse leader at 12 under. That score will never win in Hartford. His card, Jimmy Johnson, was 90 minutes down the road. Thomas and his friend had a lunch of four, maybe five beers. The wind started to cry. The leaders did not make birds. Soon, 12 under started to look like it could be the winning score.

“I have nevernot I wanted to be in the tournament earlier,” Thomas said Sunday afternoon here. In the end, Russell Knox won at 14 under.

So, no – Justin Thomas, the famous beer drinker, wouldn’t be drinking on a Sunday afternoon, here at Aronimink, at least before someone arrived at six o’clock or so.

Thomas played a lot of golf with Fred Couples. You probably know the story of Fred’s first Tour win, in 1983. Fred was in a five-man match at the Kemper Open at Congressional with TC Chen, Scott Simpson, Gil Morgan and Barry Jaeckel. The details are sketchy, all these years and drinks later, but this much can be said with certainty: Barry Jaeckel has been enjoying the comfort of the Congressional clubhouse for about two hours before he was called up for a playoff. Jaeckel was out after one hole. The couple won next.

Thomas is the son (and grandson) of a PGA pro who grew up in Louisville, Ky. When he was three years old, the PGA tournament came to town, Valhalla. Kentucky’s native son, Kenny Perry, shot a closing 68 and that made him the clubhouse leader. He walked into the CBS broadcast and smartly began to give some details about his game and how the course would play out for the freshmen. By the end of the fourth round, Perry was, unsurprisingly, in a sudden death match with Mark Brooks. Perry just went straight to the booth for the playoff and watched Brooks make a birdie on his first hole and win.

Justin Thomas wouldn’t spend his Sunday afternoon on the CBS broadcast on the 18th.

Thomas had the year expected. After last year’s Ryder Cup, he had surgery to relieve pain on a herniated disc and didn’t play again until Bay Hill in March, where he shot 79-79. His score was a reflection of how weak this game can be. His level of candor about the state of his game was astounding. He seemed lost.

But the next week he had a solid Top-10 finish at the Players Championship and he knew then, and Thomas knew then, that it wasn’t as if he had forgotten how to play championship golf.

After two rounds of 69 here, Thomas was just two shots off the lead in the middle of the tournament. But a third-round 72 left him upset and seemingly out of contention. He practiced almost until sunset.

“I was bitter,” Thomas said Sunday afternoon. “I was upset. I practiced longer than we normally have in that situation. I just felt like I couldn’t leave the golf course the way I was.”

When he was done, Thomas discreetly signed autographs and posed for fan photos in front of Aronimink’s massive clubhouse.

He was gone Sunday morning at 10:55, three hours and 40 minutes before the last game of the day. At the start of the day, Thomas was on par and six shots behind Saturday night’s leader, Alex Smalley.

Thomas finished with a 33, two under par. He made three birdies, and no bogeys, in the first eight holes on his back nine. He stood on the 18th tee five under, hoping to get to six. The final hole here is an uphill 490 yard par-4 with a hot fairway. One thing Thomas had to do was drive in the play. He pulled back his gun, re-entered and fired, as he did. His ball is perfect to the left. Thomas unwrapped the banana and ate it.

The lie was so bad his caddy marked the exact spot of the ball with a score card pencil to make sure Thomas didn’t accidentally step on it. All he could do from there was cut one, and he did. That shot finished 40 yards past the hole. From there he jumped up to 15 feet.

A competitive golfer is on the rise. On the 17th, a 172-yard par-3, Thomas hit a bogey, thinking the adrenaline would give him another 15 yards. When you have all that extra speed in your system, when your heart is racing, it’s hard to calm yourself down over a 15-footer. It’s hard to get in touch with your finesse side. Thomas’s friend Tiger Woods is probably the best ever to control breathing and heart rate and rising emotions in times of stress. And so he did, going from Superman on the final tees to a well-hitting oil painter on the final greens. Thomas took a breather and made his 15 foot par.

He hugged his card. He kissed his wife. He hugged his father. He signed for 65 years. He began to wait. If he’s going to win a third PGA Championship, here at Aronimink, he’s going to need help. He was hanging, hanging, hanging. Five had a chance, until they didn’t. Justin Thomas’ wait was over at 6:30, and Aaron Rai was nine under par. Thomas could break his first one. It was still fun, if you call it fun.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com