Kentucky Native Justin Thomas Joins Elite Company with RBC Heritage Win

Justin Thomas is one of the best golfers from the state of Kentucky to ever swing the sticks on the PGA Tour. He proved that again on Easter weekend in Hilton Head.

Thomas looked like the player to beat in the RBC Heritage after he fired off an opening round 61, tying the course record. Si Woo Kim applied pressure and took a one-stroke lead ahead of the final round, and Andrew Novak took Thomas’ spot in the final grouping with a 66 on Saturday. Novak and Thomas would need a few extra holes to determine the winner of the plaid jacket in Harbour Town.

Thomas drained a long birdie putt on 17 to take a lead that would not last. Almost simultaneously, Novak hit a birdie putt on 16 to create a tie atop the leaderboard. A couple of pars later, the two went to a playoff.

Tensions run high in playoff golf, especially when you haven’t won on the PGA Tour in 1,064 days. Thomas remained unfazed. The Kentucky native had a birdie putt to win it on the first playoff hole. As Jim Nantz said, “That is as pure as it gets.”

WHAT A WAY TO WIN IT! 🤯

Justin Thomas with the putt to claim victory at the @RBC_Heritage 🔥🏆 pic.twitter.com/JSaofLwsur

— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) April 20, 2025

The victory at the RBC Heritage was Justin Thomas’ first on the PGA Tour since he secured his second PGA Championship back in 2022.

“I think the hard part about it is it’s just really hard to win,” Thomas said after the win. “I feel like I’ve been playing well enough to win for a couple of years, but just because you feel that way and you are, obviously, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to.

“Obviously ’23 was tough and I was trying to work my way through it and get out of that, but I feel like I was putting more pressure on myself even last year to win than I was this year, and I just feel like my game is in such a better place and in a good spot to where I’m just really trying as hard as I can to get myself in a place mentally of just trusting and playing and just committing to what I’m doing and having the belief that it’s going to be good enough the more often I get myself there.”

With the victory, Thomas moved into elite company. He is just the seventh player to secure 16+ PGA Tour victories before 32. The other six players:

Arnold Palmer
Jack Nicklaus
Johnny Miller
Tom Watson
Tiger Woods
Rory McIlroy

Not too shabby.

Sign up for the KSR Newsletter to receive Kentucky Wildcats news in the most ridiculous manner possible.