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In what many people are calling the greatest, most legacy-defining playoff win of April 2025, Justin Thomas defeated Andrew Novak in extra holes at the RBC Heritage. His win came despite a penalty shot for causing his ball to move during Saturday’s round, an incident JT himself called out to a rules official. As Dottie Pepper stated on the telecast, “There’s no conscience like a clear conscience.” Respect to Thomas for alerting the official.

The victory marks JT’s first time in the winner’s circle since he won the 2022 PGA Championship nearly three full years ago. The world No. 8  has been knocking on the door of winning over the last six months, with three runners-up finishes since the Zozo Championship in October. Gaining nearly a stroke per round, JT’s iron play is approaching peak Thomas levels of five to seven years ago.  However, a bump to his iron play hasn’t been the biggest driver of improved recent play. JT is having the best putting season of his career, gaining over a third of a stroke per round on the greens this season, a figure that will increase after posting the third highest SG: Putting total in the field at the RBC Heritage.

Prior to Sunday’s final round, Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis revealed on the telecast that JT and Xander Schauffele spent time comparing notes on putting setup and technique during this past offseason in Florida. Since then, Thomas has gone from being ranked 174th out of 184 PGA Tour golfers in SG: Putting in 2024 to consistently posting positive strokes gained with the putter in 2025. Whatever JT is doing now with the flatstick, it’s working.

After a disappointing, uncompetitive T-36 finish at the Masters, Thomas should be feeling more confident entering the year’s second major at Quail Hollow, site of his first major championship win. As for who will carry his clubs moving forward, it’s hard to imagine JT bidding farewell to Joe Greiner, Max Homa’s former caddie who subbed in for JT both at the Masters and RBC Heritage while his regular looper recovers from a back injury. I’m not alleging anything, of course, but Greiner’s timing in ditching Homa’s bag remains…curious. Just connecting some dots!

A Different Type of Test

One of the perks of hosting a tournament at Harbour Town is getting to watch many of the best players in the world attack a golf course that plays so differently compared to the majority of courses on the PGA Tour. The Pete Dye design, set to undergo a restoration after the conclusion of this tournament, often takes driver out of players’ hands and forces them to negotiate overhanging trees with different shot shapes into small, firm greens. When the wind blows, Harbour Town provides a unique challenge with a distinct identity.

It’s also fun to see which golfers convince themselves that laying back on the excellent par-4 ninth hole is a smart play. Eventual winner Justin Thomas, who lost 0.4 strokes to the field with a par on No. 9 in the final round, was among the guilty.

It never fails to amaze me how frequently Tony Finau – who laid back and made par all four days, losing nearly two full strokes on the hole for the week – neuters his strength and plays conservatively off tees. Handing away shots there, Tony!

Fortunately for the field, regardless of how you play the ninth hole – or any hole, for that matter – nobody goes home after the RBC Heritage empty-handed. The 72-man, no-cut event doesn’t just pay out an average of $278,000 per golfer, but it also distributes FedEx Cup points to every finishing position. The solo 72nd-place finisher earned 5.25 points just for showing up. For those who prefer the currency-converted figure, that’s roughly the equivalent of a made cut T-49 finish at the opposite-field Corales Puntacana Championship. Not a bad party favor.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.