Justin Thomas won the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges today, continuing a streak of quality golf resembling how he played in rising to No.1 in the world ranking for four weeks in 2018.
Thomas, 26, shot a five-under par 67 in the final round at the Nine Bridges course on Jeju Island, South Korea, to edge out Danny Lee. He completed 72 holes in 20-under-par 268, two shots ahead of the New Zealander. Lee, who was chasing his second PGA Tour victory, shot a closing three-under par 69.
The two entered the final round tied for the lead and were still tied until Thomas holed a 10-foot birdie putt at the 14th hole and Lee bogeyed the 15th and 16th holes.
.@JustinThomas34 has won THE CJ CUP for a second time. 🏆 https://t.co/UPMURG78SY
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 20, 2019
“I felt like this course provides a lot of opportunities for two-shot swings, so I kept trying to hit fairways and greens and give myself a lot of birdie chances,” Thomas said. “And he just kept getting up and down from everywhere. It was hard to kind of keep my composure and stay patient, but I knew that I was playing great golf and it felt like if I kept doing that, then at least I was going to have a great chance on the last couple of holes.”
The victory was Thomas’ 11th in this his sixth season on the PGA Tour. It also was his second win in his past four starts, his first coming in the BMW Championship in August.
Those four starts represent a world-class player at the peak of his game. There was the victory in the BMW, followed by a tie for third in the Tour Championship, a tie for fourth in the Safeway Open, his first start of the new season, and now this, his second victory in the three-year history of the CJ Cup.
Australia’s Cameron Smith closed birdie-birdie-eagle for a final-round 69, giving him a share of third place alongside Hideki Matsuyama and reigning US Open champion Gary Woodland. It was Smith’s third straight top-10 finish in the three-year-old tournament.