Justin Thomas Calls One-Stroke Penalty On Himself In Third Round Of RBC Heritage

Justin Thomas is bidding for his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship at the RBC Heritage.

After setting a course record at Harbour Town with a 61 in the opening round, Thomas was still in control of proceedings heading into the third round following a 69 on Friday. However, he suffered a setback on just his second hole of Moving Day when he was assessed a one-stroke penalty.

The trouble came after Thomas decided to remove some loose impediments from a waste area, causing his ball to move very slightly. The 15-time PGA Tour winner was aware of the potential rules breach and discussed the issue with a rules official. Following a review, Thomas was hit with the penalty, turning a birdie into a par.

That could prove costly as, soon after, four-time PGA Tour winner Si Woo Kim joined Thomas at the top of the leaderboard. The South Korean began the day two back of the leader, but while Thomas failed to improve on his 14-under for the tournament following his penalty, Kim, playing in the same group as Thomas, drew level with two birdies to begin his round.

The pair then remained neck and neck through the remainder of the front nine, with each making birdies at the fifth and the ninth. Then, on the 11th, Thomas' eventful day took another turn when he faced a shot out of shallow water on the 11th. Not only did his attempt to get out of trouble leave him wet, it didn't do much for his chances, as he made bogey to hand Kim the lead.

By the end of the third round, Thomas was still well in contention, although he begins Sunday's action a shot back of Kim.

The incident involving Thomas was not the first breach of the rules on the PGA Tour on Saturday. In its opposite field event, the Corales Puntacana Championship, five-time PGA Tour winner Ben Crane was disqualified after he played the wrong ball during the third round and failed to correct it before playing his tee shot on the following hole.