Alex Noren did Justin Thomas a tremendous service by bogeying the last three holes to finish in a tie for ninth. He gifted Thomas with an invite to next week’s Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
When Noren stepped onto the 16th tee, a par-3, he sat in a tie for fourth and was projected to finish within the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 30 advance to East Lake, and with scoreboards everywhere, Noren knew the stakes. Whoever makes it to the Tour Championship is invited to Augusta National and the U.S. Open the following year.
But the Swede’s late-round slide dropped him to outside of the top-30, thus bumping Thomas up the rankings and into the Tour Championship.
“I mean, it was tough. It was tricky,” Noren admitted.
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“I didn’t hit the shots that I needed to. It’s tricky when it’s this firm. The greens are firm. The fairways are firm. I just need to get a little better.”
Thomas, meanwhile, finished in a tie for 39th. He struggled over his first three days at Castle Pines, shooting 76-72-74 on the par-72 layout. But then he carded a 4-under 68 on Sunday, and it proved good enough in the end.
“My destiny is probably a lot more in the hands of, unfortunately, other people than my own unless I shot 10- or 11-under today,” Thomas said after his round.
“I feel like I somewhat did my part; hopefully, it pans out.”
Things did work out for Thomas, who will return to East Lake for the first time since 2022. He has had great success on this Donald Ross layout, although Andrew Green came in and revitalized the entire course for this year’s tournament. Still, Thomas has finished within the top 10 in all seven Tour Championship appearances. He also has a pair of runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2020.
But under the starting-strokes format, Thomas, as the 30th-ranked player, will begin the championship at even par. Scottie Scheffler, who sits atop the FedEx Cup rankings, will start at 10-under, and Xander Schauffele, who is second, will begin at 8-under. So before a ball is even in the air, Thomas will face a 10-shot deficit. But that’s better than not making it to East Lake altogether.
“You have to play well,” Thomas added.
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“I feel like I’ve played plenty solid enough all season to be in Atlanta, but I haven’t played well in the playoff events, and that’s when you have to.”
And yet, funny enough, Thomas did not stick around Castle Pines to catch the finish. He was not stressed about whether or not he would make it to Atlanta, knowing his fate was in the hands of others.
“There’s no need for me to sit here and stress this out all afternoon. It sucks, but it’s the position I put myself in,” Thomas said.
“I’m happy just going home and getting a few nights at home. Hopefully, I’ll head to Atlanta on Tuesday.”
Indeed, thanks to Noren’s stumble, Thomas will head to the Peach State on early Tuesday. But now the question is, can Thomas take full advantage of the opportunity, overcoming longshot odds to win the FedEx Cup? Probably not. But his odds of making it to East Lake were slim to begin with, and if there is anything that stands true in golf, it’s that anything is possible.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.