Justin Thomas ditched his socks and shoes to play an incredible recovery shot at the end of his opening round at the PGA Championship. The two-time champion failed to break par on a tough day at Quail Hollow, signing for a two-over 73. It leaves him nine shots adrift of leader Jhonattan Vegas heading into Friday’s second round.
It was a mixed day for Thomas, who struggled to find any sort of consistency with five birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey. One of his dropped shots came at the final hole, but it could have been worse without a brilliant recovery shot. It came after his approach splashed into the water before bounding up off a rock and settling just next to the creek.
The ball was nestled in a patch of tall grass right in front of the rock, making it a daunting prospect for any golfer. Most players would have simply taken a drop in an attempt to limit the damage, but Thomas had other ideas.
Getting it done the hard way, the 32-year-old whipped off his left sock and shoe before wading into the creek. Incredibly, he managed to land his chip beautifully on the green by striking down on the ball with his lob wedge.
Sadly for Thomas, he missed the following par putt and had to settle for a bogey. His brave decision to play the ball rather than take a drop might have saved him from slipping too far behind, as a double bogey would have seen him fall outside the top 100.
It comes after Thomas admitted to being ‘jealous’ of Rory McIlroy, having watched the Northern Irishman prevail at the Masters a few weeks ago. He said the pain of watching his rival celebrate helped him to regain his competitive spirit.
“After watching the Masters, it was like, of course… obviously I knew I always wanted to win the Grand Slam, I wanted to win all the majors,” explained Thomas.
“But for some reason, watching somebody do it first-hand, it reminded me almost of: ‘Damn, I forgot, I really do want to do that’. It’s weird.
“It’s something I think all of us… some certain people maybe hit us in different ways in terms of jealousy or drive or whatever you want to call it, any time someone wins that isn’t me.
“If it’s a friend, I’m obviously happy for them, but there’s always going to be a part of me that’s jealous and wishes it was me. I think you’d be crazy to say otherwise.”
