Thomas ends 3-year drought with playoff victory

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Justin Thomas had one more hurdle to prove his game was back where he felt it belonged, and he cleared it Sunday in the RBC Heritage with the longest putt he ever made to win. Walking up to the 18th green at Harbour Town in a playoff with Andrew Novak, Thomas remarked to fill-in caddie Joe Greiner that he had never made a putt of any length to win on the final hole. He had just outside 20 feet. The putt was so pure, Thomas dropped his putter before the ball disappeared into the cup, setting off pure joy at ending nearly three years without a win. "That was pretty cool," he said. "That was as fun as I thought it would be." Thomas played bogey-free in dry, fast conditions on a course that demanded precision, making a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole and closing with a 3-under 68. Maybe the most nervous moment came in the scoring trailer as Thomas watched Novak stand over an 8-foot putt for the win. The birdie putt was left all the way, and Novak — who made a big birdie of his own on the 16th — had a 68 to join him at 17-under 267. In the playoff, Novak missed from just inside 35 feet, setting the stage for Thomas. He felt pure joy as he looked around at the packed grandstands on one side, the Calibogue Sound on another and his family cheering him on behind the 18th green. "I didn't realize how much I missed winning," Thomas said on the 18th green as he stood next to wife Jill and 5-month-old daughter Molly. His previous win was the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May of 2022. His game slipped and he missed the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in 2023, and he was left off the Presidents Cup team a year ago. His game was back in order — he cracked the top 10 again — and needed only a victory to confirm his game was back among the elite. "I think it was the last thing missing, if you will," Thomas said. "It's hard to say, because obviously careers are so long and there's so much up and down and lots going on that you never know what point of your career you're at until it's over. "At least for me, I felt like it was the last thing that I needed to do for my own well-being." Novak was a runner-up in Bermuda last fall. He was right there at Torrey Pines in the Farmers Insurance Open. He was in the mix at the Valero Texas Open. And this looked like it might be his moment to break through until Thomas refused to be denied. "I'm not as frustrated as I thought I would be." Novak said. "I feel like I did a lot of good things. I'm pretty proud of putting myself in that position when I really felt like I wasn't swinging it that great this week. "I thought I was a little more comfortable down the stretch than maybe I have been in the past. Justin just went out and won it. There's nothing you can really do about it." Thomas won for the 16th time on the PGA Tour and moved to No. 6 in the world. He also moved into the top six in the Ryder Cup standings. Thomas and Novak pulled away in the middle of the round from a tight leaderboard — a four-way tie at one point as they were joined by 54-hole leader Si Woo Kim and Maverick McNealy. Daniel Berger closed with a 65 to tie for third with McNealy (70), Mackenzie Hughes (67) and Brian Harman (69). Defending champion Scottie Scheffler even got in on the act, just briefly. He started four shots behind and was even for the round through eight holes. But he ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn to pull within two. Scheffler was running out of hole when he took on a high-risk shot needing eagle to have a legitimate chance. That found the water, leading to double bogey. He still shot 70 and tied for eighth, his third straight top 10 while contending into the final hour. "I think I'm really close," Scheffler said. "I feel like I did a lot of things well this week, just a few of the important shots I just didn't pull off. Outside of that it was a pretty solid week." Thomas won the tournament with a birdie in a playoff. He saved his chances toward the end of the front nine when he made five straight putts starting on the fourth hole — 8 feet for par, 7 feet for birdie, 7 feet for par, 8 feet for par and just inside 15 feet for birdie on No. 8, where he took on the trees with a 7-iron to give himself a chance. Novak had tree trouble and battled away, getting a few good bounces and a remarkable par save from a sandy lie amidst a forest on No. 11. He moves high enough in the world ranking — inside the top 35 — that he should be a lock for the U.S. Open and now needs to stay in the top 50 the next month for the British Open. ___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf