Thomas wins Sentry TOC in sudden-death

By
Mo Yoshimoto,

By
Mo Yoshimoto

Published January 7, 2020 10:47 AM

Sentry Tournament of Champions

Plantation Course

Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii

Winner’s Share: $1,340,000

Event Type: Limited field, winners only, no cut

Playing out of the final twosome and beginning one shot back, past champ and World No. 4 Justin Thomas styled a 4-under-par 34-35=69 in Sunday’s final round to match past champ Patrick Reed (66) and overnight leader, defending champ and playing competitor Xander Schauffele (70) on 14-under 278, and then in fading daylight, won with birdie on the third playing of the par-5 18^th in sudden-death.

The 26-year-old, a pre-tourney 5/1 outright, bags his 12^th PGA TOUR title in 141 events (137 pro) and improves to 3-1 in extra time. It’s his second win of the season in four starts, joining the no-cut CJ CUP (as 13/2 fave) two starts ago as a 54-hole co-leader, and becomes the season’s second multiple-winner (Brendon Todd).

Patrick Cantlay (68) finished solo 4^th, three adrift, while Rickie Fowler (69) and 18-hole leader and first-timer Joaquin Niemann (70) came T5, four in arrears.

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Thomas, who’s won three of his last six starts, has now hoisted the hardware eight times in his last 51 events – for a win percentage of 15.6 – and 11 times in his last 70 (15.7%).

Eight (8) of the South Florida resident’s victories have come in no-cut events, four straight and five of his last six. This was his fourth come-from-behind win, first since the 2018 Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, which he also won in extra time.

Final Leaderboard (DraftKings pre-tourney odds outright):

P1- (-14) Justin Thomas (5/1)

P2- (-14) Patrick Reed (15/1)

P2- (-14) Xander Schauffele (11/1)

4- (-11) Patrick Cantlay (13/1)

5- (-10) Rickie Fowler (14/1)

5- (-10) Joaquin Niemann (55/1)

Note: Consecutive top-10 finishers in the event: Thomas (P1-3); Schauffele (P2-1); Fowler (5-4-5-6); Dustin Johnson (7-4-1-6-10); Gary Woodland (7-2); Jon Rahm (10-8-2)

Thomas wins his second TOC in five visits (2017) and records his second straight top-3 after solo 3^rd last year.

Looking ahead, the Alabama product is in the published field at this coming’s week’s Sony Open on Oahu. Lest we forget, he holds the TOUR’s all-time 72-hole aggregate scoring record of 253 (-27) from his wire-to-wire 7-shot romp at the 2017 Sony, where he kicked off with a course-record 11-under 59.

Thomas has won in back-to-back starts one time prior, claiming the above-mentioned Sony and the (no cut) SBS TOC en route to 2017 Player of the Year honors and the FedExCup title.

He checked in this week off a 3-1-1 record at the Presidents Cup three weeks ago, the top point-getter for the winning squad, and jumps four spots to No. 1 in the FEC standings.

Thomas’ Position by Round:

R1: 2 (1 back)

R2: T5 (3 back)

R3: 2 (1 back)

R4: T1

Reed’s Position by Round:

R1: T16 (6 back)

R2: T2 (1 back)

R3: T4 (4 back)

R4: T1

Schauffele’s Position by Round:

R1: T5 (3 back)

R2: 1 (by 1)

R3: 1 (by 1)

R4: T1

Leader/co-leaders by Round:

R1: Joaquin Niemann (finished: T5): Drops to 0-for-2 as 18-hole leader/co-leader

R2: Xander Schauffele (P2): Drops to 0-for-2 as 36-hole leader/co-leader

R3: Xander Schauffele (P2): Drops to 0-for-2 as 54-hole leader/co-leader

R4: Justin Thomas (P1): Playoff Record: 3-1

R4: Patrick Reed (P2): Playoff Record: 2-2

R4: Xander Schauffele (P2): Playoff Record: 1-2

How Thomas Won the Tournament:

Ranked 1^st (or T1) in: Total Birdies; Birdie or Better Percentage; Par-3 Scoring

Ranked 2^nd (or T2) in: Proximity to Hole; Putts per GIR; All-Around; SG: Approach; SG: Tee-to-Green

Note: See “Leaders in Selected & Strokes Gained Stats” at the bottom, along with his full stats.

Lowest-Ranked Stat(s): Scrambling (32^nd); Driving Accuracy (T19); Total Bogeys (T17)

Thomas at TOC:

Starts: 5

Top 10s: 3

Top 5s: 3

Wins: 2

Form: P1-3-22-1-21

Thomas’ Season:

Starts: 4

Cuts Made: 4

Top 25s: 4

Top 10s: 3

Top 5s: 3

Wins: 2

Form: P1-17-1-4

Thomas’ TOUR Career:

Starts: 141

Cuts Made: 113 (80.1%)

Top 25s: 78 (55.3%)

Top 10s: 47 (33.3%)

Top 3s: 22 (15.6%)

Wins: 12 (8.5%)

Wins by Season:

2020: 2

2019: 1

2018: 3

2017: 5

2016: 1

2015: --

Thomas on Sunday:

After opening with 67-73-69, he began solo 2^nd, one back.

On 13 (of 15) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, Thomas gained 1.080 strokes off-the-tee, 1.497 approaching and 2.589 strokes tee-to-green.

He needed a par on the 72^nd hole to win in regulation but bogeyed, inexplicably hitting his second from the fairway into the penalty area short and left of the green, and then outlasted Schauffele, eliminated on the 1^st playoff hole, and dispatched past champion Reed with birdie from 3'5" after an approach from 117 yards away.

Earlier, Thomas had taken control of the tourney with four straight birdies around-the-turn (holes 8-11), added two more at 14 and 15 to open a two-shot cushion, and then bogeyed 16 and 18, missing par-savers from 8’4” and 8’9”, respectively, to let Reed, in with a day-low 66 out of the fifth-to-last twosome, and Schauffele back in.

In all, he outflanked three bogeys (at 7, 16 and 18), with seven birdies (5, 8-11, 14 and 15), posting 1.600 putts per GIR and 1.382 SG: Putting with 30 total putts.

OUT: 2-under 34 (3 birdies, 1 bogey); leader by 1

IN: 2-under 35 (4 birdies, 2 bogeys); WINS in playoff

18^th hole:

In extra time, Schauffele, who 3-jacked the par 5 (from 35’11”) in regulation for par, including a missed come-backer for birdie (and the win) from 6’11”, was eliminated on the first playoff hole, 3-jacking again for par (from 102 feet).

Thomas and Reed both exchanged birdies, Thomas’ after a brilliant up-and-down from 37 yards left of the green. Reed missed an eagle try for the win from 31’4”.

The duo exchanged pars on the next playing, Reed missing the best chance for a birdie (and the win) from 12’4”.

On the third playing, Thomas fatted his second, leaving 117 yards for his third, which he stiffed to 3’5”. Reed hit his third from 69 yards away to 8’4” and missed low and right and made the 5’2” come-backer for par, but Thomas drained the 41-incher for the win.

For the week, Thomas totaled a field-high 24 birdies, not including the two in sudden-death, against 10 bogeys.

By the Numbers:

2/1: Thomas’ revised outright betting entering R4.

20/1: Reed’s revised outright betting entering R4.

8/5: Schauffele’s revised outright betting entering R4.

2: Thomas becomes the season’s second multiple-winner, joining Brendon Todd, who finished 29^th this week.

10: Thomas is the 10^th straight American to win the event.

8: Eight golfers who finished in the top-10 this week, including the top-6 finishers, played in the Presidents Cup three weeks ago. First-timer Collin Morikawa (T7) and Jon Rahm (10^th) were the only two that didn’t.

2: Reed, who won the 2015 edition in a playoff, records his second runner-up on Maui, joining 2016 (as defender). It’s his sixth career runner-up in 207 events, first since the 2018 Valspar, and his second loss in playoffs (2015 Valspar).

2: This is Schauffele’s second playoff loss this season in three starts, second overall and second straight (WGC-HSBC). It’s his sixth career runner-up in 81 events, second in as many starts, and fourth since his most recent win – here last year.

5.67: Schauffele, who was attempting to become the first repeat TOC winner since Geoff Ogilvy in 2009-10, led the field in Birdie to Bogey Ratio with 5.67 (17 birdies, 3 bogeys).

9.306: Reed finished No. 1 in SG: Putting at 9.306. Next-best was DJ at 6.488.

3: 12^th event of the season and three players were making their season debuts: Jon Rahm (finished 10^th), Dustin Johnson (T7), Rickie Fowler (T5).

2: Through 12 (non-team) events this season, the pre-tourney fave/co-fave has won two times: Rory McIlroy (6/1) at WGC-HSBC, and Thomas (13/2) at THE CJ CUP. Last season, two fave/co-faves won (in 45 non-team events): McIlroy (12/1 co-fave) at THE PLAYERS, and Morikawa at the opposite-field Barracuda (10/1).

9/2: Rahm, the 2019 Race to Dubai champ, was a pre-tourney 9/2 fave outright and top-ranked OWGRer at No. 3. He finished 10^th (down six spots) following a bogey-free 72 (1 birdie). Of his three TOUR wins, two are individual, the most recent being the 2018 CareerBuilder two years ago this month.

DNP: Rose, Mickelson, F. Molinari, McIlroy, Woods, Koepka, Lowry, Pan (illness)

15: Of 15 first-timers, 18-hole leader Niemann was top debutant with T5 (66-72-74-70). Next-best was Morikawa with T7 (71-71-70-71).

0: 0 (of 21) TOUR rookies qualified for the event.

72.228: Even with preferred lies in effect for Rounds 2, 3 and 4, the newly renovated and partially redesigned layout, along with gusty winds, yielded the highest scoring average of the season at 72.228.