Alex Noren did Justin Thomas an amazing service by bogeying the final three holes to complete in a tie for ninth. He gifted Thomas with an invitation to subsequent week’s Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
When Noren stepped onto the sixteenth tee, a par-3, he sat in a tie for fourth and was projected to complete inside the prime 30 of the FedEx Cup standings. Solely the highest 30 advance to East Lake, and with scoreboards all over the place, Noren knew the stakes. Whoever makes it to the Tour Championship is invited to Augusta Nationwide and the U.S. Open the next 12 months.
However the Swede’s late-round slide dropped him to exterior of the top-30, thus bumping Thomas up the rankings and into the Tour Championship.
“I imply, it was robust. It was tough,” Noren admitted.
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“I didn’t hit the photographs that I wanted to. It’s tough when it’s this agency. The greens are agency. The fairways are agency. I simply must get a little bit higher.”
Thomas, in the meantime, completed in a tie for thirty ninth. He struggled over his first three days at Fortress Pines, taking pictures 76-72-74 on the par-72 format. However then he carded a 4-under 68 on Sunday, and it proved ok in the long run.
“My future might be much more within the palms of, sadly, different folks than my very own until I shot 10- or 11-under as we speak,” Thomas mentioned after his spherical.
“I really feel like I considerably did my half; hopefully, it pans out.”
Issues did work out for Thomas, who will return to East Lake for the primary time since 2022. He has had nice success on this Donald Ross format, though Andrew Inexperienced got here in and revitalized all the course for this 12 months’s event. Nonetheless, Thomas has completed inside the prime 10 in all seven Tour Championship appearances. He additionally has a pair of runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2020.
However below the starting-strokes format, Thomas, because the Thirtieth-ranked participant, will start the championship at even par. Scottie Scheffler, who sits atop the FedEx Cup rankings, will begin at 10-under, and Xander Schauffele, who’s second, will start at 8-under. So earlier than a ball is even within the air, Thomas will face a 10-shot deficit. However that’s higher than not making it to East Lake altogether.
“It’s a must to play nicely,” Thomas added.
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“I really feel like I’ve performed a lot stable sufficient all season to be in Atlanta, however I haven’t performed nicely within the playoff occasions, and that’s when it’s a must to.”
And but, humorous sufficient, Thomas didn’t stick round Fortress Pines to catch the end. He was not harassed about whether or not or not he would make it to Atlanta, understanding his destiny was within the palms of others.
“There’s no want for me to sit down right here and stress this out all afternoon. It sucks, however it’s the place I put myself in,” Thomas mentioned.
“I’m glad simply going house and getting just a few nights at house. Hopefully, I am going to head to Atlanta on Tuesday.”
Certainly, due to Noren’s stumble, Thomas will head to the Peach State on early Tuesday. However now the query is, can Thomas take full benefit of the chance, overcoming longshot odds to win the FedEx Cup? In all probability not. However his odds of constructing it to East Lake had been slim to start with, and if there’s something that stands true in golf, it’s that something is feasible.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Be sure you try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.
