ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Golf devider Thomas wins RBC Heritage in playoff to end 3-year drought

Thomas wins RBC Heritage in playoff to end 3-year drought

Published Apr 21, 2025 06:11 am

At A Glance

  • Thomas played bogey-free in dry, fast conditions for a 3-under 68, making a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th that looked like it might be the winner until Novak, who grew up in South Carolina, matched him with a birdie of his own for a 68.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Justin Thomas ended nearly three years without a victory Sunday, April 20, by making a birdie putt from just outside 20 feet in a playoff at Harbour Town to beat Andrew Novak in the RBC Heritage.

AP25110815626080.jpg
Justin Thomas poses with the trophy after winning the RBC Heritage golf tournament, Sunday, April 20, in Hilton Head Island, S.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Thomas played bogey-free in dry, fast conditions for a 3-under 68, making a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th that looked like it might be the winner until Novak, who grew up in South Carolina, matched him with a birdie of his own for a 68.

Novak, who has had three good chances to win in his last 14 tournaments, had an 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation that was left all the way.

In the playoff, Novak missed from just inside 35 feet, setting the stage for Thomas. The putt was so pure that Thomas dropped his putter before the ball dropped, stooping over and clutching both arms to celebrate a 16th PGA Tour win that felt long overdue.

His previous win was the PGA Championship at Southern Hills in May of 2022. His game slipped and he missed the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in 2023, and he was left off the Presidents Cup team a year ago.

Thomas and Novak finished at 17-under 267, three shots clear of anyone else.

LPGA Tour

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ingrid Lindblad won the JM Eagle LA Championship in her third start as an LPGA Tour member, avoiding a playoff when fellow rookie Akie Iwai bogeyed the final hole at El Caballero Country Club.

Playing a group ahead of Iwai, Lindblad shot a 4-under 68 to finish at 21-under 277. The 25-year-old former LSU star from Sweden made the last of her six birdies on the par-5 11th and parred the final seven holes.

Iwai followed a third-round 64 with a 69 to fall a stroke short. The 22-year-old Japanese player’s twin sister, Chisato, tied for 11th at 15 under after a 68.

On the par-4 18th, Iwai drove to the right over a bunker into rough, then hit a 9-iron from 150 that bounced near the flag and went off the back edge. From a good lie in choppy rough, she ran the downhill chip past the hole and missed the comebacker.

Lauren Coughlin (70), Esther Henseleit (64), Miyu Yamashita (66) tied for third at 19 under. Nasa Hataoka had a 63 to get to 18 under.

PGA Tour

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Garrick Higgo took advantage of Joel Dahmen’s late meltdown to win the windy Corales Puntacana Championship for his second PGA Tour victory.

Higgo got an unexpected share of the lead when Dahmen missed a 1-foot par putt on the par-3 17th for his second straight bogey, and won when Dahmen couldn’t get an 8-foot par attempt to fall on the par-4 18th.

Playing in the group ahead of Dahmen, Higgo also bogeyed the 17th, then parred the 18th for an even-par 72 and a 14-under 274 total. Dahmen shot 76 after leading after each of the first three rounds in the event he won in 2021 for his lone tour title.

Higgo, a 25-year-old left-hander from South Africa, also won the 2021 Palmetto Championship at Congaree. The former UNLV player earned a two-year exemption with the victory, but doesn’t get a spot in the Masters.

Dahmen tied for second with Alejandro Tosti (68), Keith Mitchell (71), Jeremy Paul (72) and Michael Thorbjornsen (73). Thorbjornsen missed a 4-foot par putt on 18.

Related Tags

PGA Tour LPGA Tour
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.