LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Justin Thomas had the PGA Championship by the collar Thursday afternoon, right up until Aronimink Golf Club reminded him that golf is not a game so much as a practical joke played over 7,000 yards.
For 13 holes, Thomas was about as clean as you're going to get at a place like this. He was 3-under, tied for the lead, driving it well, rolling good putts and looking very much like a man ready to make another run at the championship that already has given him the two biggest moments of his career.
Then came the hard part.
The wind freshened. The pins got meaner. The day got longer. And No. 14, a 220-yard par-3 playing into a 20 mph wind, sat there with its flag tucked on a ridge like somebody had balanced a teacup on a windowsill during a thunderstorm.
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"That thing was right on the ridge," Thomas said.
He bogeyed 14. He dropped another shot late. And what had been a share of the lead became a 1-under 69, still only two shots behind seven co-leaders at 3-under, in a tournament so crowded that 33 players finished within two shots of the lead.
Thomas did not sound discouraged. Tired, yes — "if I had any energy left, I would go to the range," he said, "but I'm absolutely not doing that." But not discouraged.
"I played, I felt like, flawless in there for probably 13 holes," he said. "Honestly, I just had a very hard time staying focused. It's a long, long day out there. It's so, so tough, very, very windy, some tough pins."
His reward Friday is an earlier wake-up call and, perhaps, a better bargain with the weather. Thomas tees off at 8:29 a.m. on No. 10, after beginning Thursday in the fourth-to-last group and not teeing off until 1:54 p.m.
That matters. Aronimink's back nine was the more difficult side Thursday, but the morning should offer Thomas a fresher mind and, maybe, slightly friendlier conditions.
"I feel like I did a lot of really good things today," Thomas said. "Just try to do more of the same to start out tomorrow and see if we can ride a little momentum and focus on a lower number."
In other words, Thursday did not win Thomas the PGA Championship.
But it kept him close enough to make Friday matter.
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