Justin Thomas makes history with “crazy” score at The Players Championship

Since 1982 The Players Championship has been played at the custom-built TPC Sawgrass, one of the most challenging courses on the PGA Tour. With it’s distinctive stadium-like design concept and one of the most iconic holes in the world of golf, it tests even the very best.

All of that makes Justin Thomas’ performance on Friday even more incredible, becoming the first player in event history to register 11 birdies in a single round. His sensational 10-under round of 62 in day two of The Players Championship equals the course record set by Tom Hodge in 2023.

His achievement is made even more incredible by the remarkable turnaround that Thomas made after carding a 6-over round of 78 on Thursday. That 16-stroke improvement is the biggest jump between first and second round scores in TPC history.

“Crazy is an understatement. It is wild. I am just really proud of myself,” Thomas told reporters on Friday evening. “The score is great but just to come out with the attitude and mentality. The position I put myself in I needed to do something crazy just to make the cut.”

He now finds himself at -4 with two rounds remaining, seven shots adrift of leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia on -11. Thomas will fancy his chances of continuing his push up the leaderboard after his sensational round two performance, and given his record in recent years.

In 2021 Thomas clinched The Players Championship with a one-shot margin over Lee Westwood. He finished with a winning score of 14-under that weekend, a tally that he’ll probably have to improve upon this weekend if he wants to compete for the top prize.

Across Saturday and Sunday wind gusts are expected to reach up to 30mph, complicating matters for players. However world No. 2 Rory McIlroy insisted that he’s well equipped to take on the conditions in Florida over the weekend.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he explained. “I think it’s going to be really important to try to flight your ball and keep it under the tree line. I think once it gets above the tree line here it can start to really get hit by it.

“It does swirl a little bit, but I think when the wind is so strong it will be a little more consistent. This course is challenging enough, but with a wind like that I’m excited for that challenge.”

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