Roundup: Justin Thomas Wins 99th PGA Championship

/

Steve DiMeglio of USA Today captured what made this one somewhat thrilling even as Justin Thomas took control: would he be able to corral his energy.

Many times throughout his young career, Justin Thomas has been his own worst enemy.

Much like his high-octane swing that makes him pound-for-pound the longest player in professional golf — he tips the scales at about 150 — Thomas doesn’t hold much back on the inside, either. He’s a demonstrative player with a big personality who rides the highs and lows with equal intensity, often to his own detriment as he quickly can’t shake bad moments.

Doug Ferguson of AP played off Thomas's life as the son of a PGA pro.

Justin Thomas remembers hearing the roar before he ever saw the shot.

He had access to the clubhouse at Valhalla in 2000 as the 7-year-old son of a PGA professional, and the thunder from the gallery reached his ears before the TV showed Tiger Woods making the most important putt of his career at that PGA Championship.

Thomas was barely big enough to dream of playing against the best that day. Now his name is on the same Wanamaker Trophy.

There were memorable birdies at 13 and 17, but the putt at 10 will stand out for man. Kevin Casey with the video and story behind the putt at Golfweek.com.

Here it is, hit the link if the embed is frozen.

Michael Bamberger at Golf.com has a fun account of a weird day and while Thomas ultimately pulled away down the lane, he reminds us...

At 5 p.m., the air still and warm, the Wanamaker Trophy hanging out, waiting for a kiss, Thomas was one of five men who stood at seven under par on the difficult Quail Hollow Club course, with its Bermuda greens and wet, snarling rough.

Thomas drank champagne after the win and following a toast from PGA President Paul Levy of, uh, Indian Wells...

ESPN.com's Bob Harig considers the evolution of Thomas's game, the role of envy in motivating him and talks to his bagman.

"I think what he learned is that he has to play his game and not force it,'' said veteran caddie Jimmy Johnson, who left Steve Stricker to work for Thomas full time two years ago. "Let the course come to him, and play a little smarter. He was trying too hard, maybe. I don't think he was so much frustrated as he was playing too hard. He's just letting his potential go through now.''

Mike McAllister at PGATour.com dives deep (with some rich details) on the three turning point moments for Thomas on Sunday.

Brian Wacker at Golf World talks to Thomas's grandfather about his grandson's win.

“I told him this week when we talked that he was good enough to win anywhere. He hits the ball as well as any guy out there, and he has shots that other guys don’t have.”

Jason Sobel has the full story on Thomas's life as the son and grandson of PGA of America professionals.

David Dusek with the winner’s bag, a whole bunch of Titleist clubs!

Dave Kindred on Thomas's mastery of the Green Mile as a key to his win.

PGATour.com with this photo gallery of the best shots from Thomas's win.

Kevin Kisner gave it a great run all the way to the Green Mile, where he was six over on the weekend, writes GolfChannel.com's Will Gray.

Gray also writes about Jordan Spieth's inability to figure out the greens.

Patrick Reed secured his first top 10 in a major and came away frustrated (ok, downright cranky), reports Golf World's Dave Shedloski.

David Duval speaks from experience when he sees Rory McIlroy swinging around his injury and says it's time to shut the game down until he can get healthy.

"He needs to go home. He needs to stop playing right now. He's hurt and I am watching his golf swing deteriorate," he said. "If only I could go back and tell myself 18-20 years go when I started having those problems, 'Stop, get healthy.' He could do himself a big service. He's always had a little bit of a hitch with the driver in terms of flattening out a little but it is getting a lot more pronounced right now and I think that is due to that rib injury."

Ian Poulter threw quite the fit Sunday and it’s still unclear who was right in the argument with a rules official.

Runner-up Louis Oosthuizen will never look quite the same to you ever again.