'Disaster To Relief' - Justin Thomas Wins Tournament Of Champions Again

The American won in a playoff after bogeying two of the final three holes

'Disaster To Relief' - Justin Thomas Wins Tournament Of Champions Again

Justin Thomas beat Patrick Reed and Xander Schauffele to win the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua for the second time.

The 2017 winner described his 12th PGA Tour victory as "relief" after hitting his second into the penalty area on the last hole to bogey and lose his one stroke lead.

That was after bogeying the 16th as well in what was a brilliant round that he let get away from him.

Still, he got the 'W' thanks to a birdie on the 3rd playoff hole after Schauffele was eliminated on the 1st extra hole and Patrick Reed failed to make birdie the 2nd or 3rd extra holes.

“The emotions and how I was winning and then I was barely winning and then I was losing and then I barely got in a playoff… that takes a lot out of you," Thomas said after his win.

"I probably don't seem as elated as I might be or as I would hope to be."

The 26-year-old shot a closing four under par 69 with seven birdies and three bogeys.

The American now has 12 PGA Tour victories and is closing in on Jon Rahm in 3rd spot in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Thomas is now almost a full point clear of World No.5 Dustin Johnson, too.

Related: Justin Thomas What's in the bag?

“Once I get back to the hotel hopefully with my family, I'll be able to enjoy it a little bit and we'll talk about it. But relief is definitely a word that comes to mind," he said.

“I truly felt like through 15 holes it was one of the best rounds I had played.

"I was in such control tee to green. I was putting it beautifully, my irons were awesome, and I hit a really good drive on 16, just the wind took it more, and then 18 was just a disaster.

"I really didn't hit very many good shots on the hole. But it worked out.

“It means a lot. A decent amount of them I got fortunate like I did today. That's what happens when you win. Stuff goes your way.

“It's not supposed to be that hard. I know it's hard, but I made it about five times as hard as it needed to be. Obviously you have to play well and make some putts and hit some shots, but at the end of the day, you need stuff to go your way, and it definitely did today, and it feels great.

“It's another one down. I want to keep building on that, and I feel like I'm really just trying to get better every year, and we're improving in some of the right areas. Next week we will try to get to 13.”

Thomas won the Tournament of Champions in 2017 and then went on to win the Sony Open the following week after shooting a 59 in the opening round.

His 2017 was the best year of his career with five victories including his maiden Major.

He'll be hoping to emulate that in 2020.

High winds made it difficult for the players with the winning score coming at -14, the second-highest winning score since Kapalua began hosting in 1999.

Tournament of Champions Leaderboard:

1 Justin Thomas -14

2 Patrick Reed -14

2 Xander Schauffele -14

4 Patrick Cantlay -11

5 Rickie Fowler -10

5 Joaquin Niemann -10

7 Dustin Johnson -9

7 Collin Morikawa -9

7 Gary Woodland -9

10 Jon Rahm -8

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