Justin Thomas’ PGA Championship victory back in 2017 had many memorable moments over the course of the week, but very few may remember that he opened with a 2-over 73 and was six shots back at Quail Hollow Club. That opening round included six bogeys and four birdies.
It’s part of the story for that epic August week in steamy North Carolina because Thomas, only 24 at the time, rebounded with a 66 in the second round. Although he was still five shots behind Kevin Kisner – who shot consecutive 67s to open – Thomas jumped many players on the leaderboard and vaulted into a tie for seventh place, setting himself up for a run at his first Wanamaker Trophy over the weekend.
A third-round 69 was one of the better scores on a day that only saw 10 scores below 70. Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama shot 72 and 73 respectively and Thomas went into the final round only two shots off the lead. He found himself tied for the lead after a wild birdie on the 10th hole when his 8-foot putt sat on the left edge of the cup for a few seconds before dropping. Thomas playfully tipped his hat to the adoring gallery.
Relive the incredible action from Justin Thomas’ thrilling victory at Quail Hollow in 2017! 🙌#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/jcfwqp1LMy
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 12, 2025
Three holes later Thomas chipped in for birdie at the par-3 13th and made another on the 17th hole to take a comfortable three-shot lead into the difficult 18th hole. Thomas drove it into a right fairway bunker, hit his second right and short of the green, chipped it on and two-putted for bogey to shoot 68, good for a two-shot victory over Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed. Kisner’s 74 moved him down into a seventh-place tie.
The victory was especially emotional for the Thomas family as Justin’s father, Mike, was a long-time PGA Master Professional, making Justin the eighth PGA Champion to be the son of a PGA Professional. Mike Thomas’ father, Paul, was a retired PGA Life Member. Paul Thomas died in 2021 at age 89.
I know that Major Champion will never be taken away from after my name.
“Yeah, it was something that obviously as a kid growing up, being a golf fan, you want to win all the majors. You want to win any major,” Justin Thomas said. “For me, the PGA definitely had a special place in my heart, and maybe a special drive, I guess you could say.
“Like I said, I want to win every tournament I play in. I want to try to win every major. But the end of the day, this was really cool. For this to be my first one and have my dad here, and I know grandpa was watching at home. I was able to talk to him and that was pretty cool. It's just a great win for the family, and it's a moment we'll never forget, all of us.”
It's fun to look back now at some of Thomas’ comments from that historic day at Quail Hollow eight years ago. That was Thomas’ fifth PGA Tour win and first major. He went on to win two more times later that year. Of course, he then won the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Oklahoma, again in epic fashion by erasing a seven-shot deficit, shooting 67 and topping Will Zalatoris in a three-hole aggregate playoff. He also won the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage event three weeks ago in South Carolina for his 16th tour title.
“I know that Major Champion will never be taken away from, you know, after my name,” he said back in 2017 while staring at the Wanamaker Trophy sitting on the table next to him. “Hopefully I'm going to win some more, plenty more, a lot more, whatever.
“I know you can't get to two unless you get one. So I'm excited to have this, and it's incredible. It was an awesome day. It was a great experience. It's huge for me. I mean, who knows what will happen.”
We now know. And it’s all turned out extremely well.
