Texas Children's Houston Open

Memorial Park Golf Course



The Loop

Watch Justin Thomas eagle his final hole to shoot 59 at the Sony Open

January 12, 2017
170112-justin-thomas-th.jpg

With two early victories under his belt, Justin Thomas has already made his mark on a young PGA Tour season. And now he's added what might just go down as the low round of the year -- by firing one of the lowest rounds in tour history.

Fresh off his first victory on U.S. soil at the Tournament of Champions in Kapalua (and his third PGA Tour title overall), Thomas, 23, more than kept that good Hawaiian mojo going in the first round of the Sony Open. The budding superstar shot 59 at Waialae Country Club, and he did it in style.

Thomas began his round on the short par-4 10th hole by pitching in for eagle. After a bogey and a par on the next two holes, he rattled off eight birdies over his next 10 holes. His momentum seemed to stall with pars on holes 5-8, but he hit his second shot from a fairway bunker 207 yards out on the par-5 ninth (his final hole of the day) to 15 feet. And then did this to become the youngest player ever to shoot golf's magic number:

Thomas leads by three shots over Hudson Swafford after Day 1. Making his round even more special? Thomas played with good friend Jordan Spieth, who shot 65. You can watch Spieth and fellow playing partner Daniel Berger react to Thomas' final putt from this angle:

And here's how Rickie Fowler reacted on Twitter:

This is not the first time Thomas has gone really low at Waialae. He shot a second-round 61 in 2015 on his way to finishing T-6.

Thanks in large part to those bookend eagles on Thursday, Thomas became the seventh player in PGA Tour history to break 60. His 59 is the eighth overall sub-60 score on tour.

Jim Furyk, who became the first player to shoot 58 at last year's Travelers Championship, is the only player to pull off the feat twice.

Furyk also happened to be named the next U.S. Ryder Cup captain on Wednesday. The 2018 event is still a ways off, but at this point, it's hard to imagine JT, who is looking for a third win in five starts, won't be teeing it up for Furyk in France.