Sometimes, wanting something too much can be detrimental.
Since his last victory at the 2022 PGA Championship, Justin Thomas was eager to return to the winner’s circle. However, admitting he was “pressing too hard,” instead of trusting his game, the former world No. 1 went nearly three years without a win, the longest drought of his career.
But the wait is over.
MORE: Final results, payouts from RBC Heritage
Thomas dropped a 21-foot birdie putt to edge Andrew Novak in a playoff at the RBC Heritage for his 16th PGA Tour triumph in his 250th start.
WALK-OFF WINNER!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 2025
Euphoria for @JustinThomas34! pic.twitter.com/PzxhmmIhVA
“I think there's definitely some relief in there, but it was—when the ball went in, it was pure joy,” Thomas said.
Thomas and Novak sat near the top of the leaderboard all afternoon. Novak was playing in the final pairing with 54-hole leader Si Woo Kim, who faltered with a final-round 74. Thomas, who entered the final round one back, played in the penultimate group after calling a one-stroke penalty on himself in Round 3.
Tied at 16 under, Thomas took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 16th. Then Novak, a 30-year-old looking for his maiden Tour win in his 99th start, tied it with a birdie on the par-4 16th after two sliced tee shots on Nos. 10 and 11 caught lucky breaks and kicked out into the fairway.
Both needed birdie on the closing par-4 to notch the win in regulation. Thomas’s approach settled 34 feet from the cup, while Novak’s fell just 10 feet away.
Novak, though, missed his putt, sending the tournament to a playoff for the third time in the last four years.
Back on No. 18, which has the widest fairway on Tour, both hit superb drives. Novak’s second shot, however, sailed a bit left to leave him a 33-footer for birdie, which he missed. Then, Thomas sank his.
Afterward, Thomas was overcome with emotion in the fading daylight on Hilton Head Island, winning for the first time as a father and husband.
“How unbelievable my wife Jill has been and just being a rock star and supporting,” Thomas said. “I just would tell her how much fun it was for us to do this as a family.”
Novak, meanwhile, said he wasn't “as frustrated as I thought I would be” in defeat. He wasn’t even supposed to be here. He got into the field at Harbour Town because the field didn’t meet the minimum number of players, so it was filled with the next top players on the Aon Next 10.
Now, he has essentially locked up a spot in the PGA Championship and U.S. Open with his third top 5 of the season.
“I feel like I did a lot of good things,” Novak said. “I’m pretty proud of putting myself in that position when I really felt like I wasn’t swinging it that great this week.”
A win had been brewing for Thomas after four top 10s this season entering the RBC Heritage, which helped him crack the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time since March 2023 (he moved to No. 6 with the victory).
And after several close calls, the 31-year-old’s long-awaited return to the winner’s circle finally came—a moment Thomas had been yearning for, maybe even too much.
Because they should never be taken for granted.
“I think the hard part about it is it’s just really hard to win,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been playing well enough to win for a couple years, but just because you feel that way and you are, obviously, that doesn’t mean that you're going to.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Justin Thomas Ends Winless Drought at RBC Heritage With Thrilling Playoff Birdie.
