BROOKLINE, Mass. — The day started on a weird note for Justin Thomas. As he stepped to the tee, the announcer introduced him as “Justin Thompson.”
Not a great look to get the world’s fifth-ranked player’s name wrong.
After opening with three pars, Thomas’ ball found the fairway on No. 4, one of the toughest holes on the golf course. It came to rest a few inches away from a water drain, a spot where players normally get relief.
Thomas did not.
The 29-year-old decided he was not in any danger (risking injury by playing the shot) and that it wasn’t obscuring his swing in any way. So, he played from where his ball came to rest. From a weird stance, Thomas laid the sod over a wedge into a bunker 50 yards shy of the green.
He wasn’t happy.
“That’s what pisses me off, because so many other people would lie about being able to hit that, but it’s just like, I’m not going to hit it. That’s bulls***, man,” Thomas said after the shot.
His third failed to reach the green, and Thomas walked to the 5th tee box with a bogey.
The shot
Thomas’ reaction
*Warning: Explicit language