Kapalua, Maui, Hawai‘i – Justin Thomas knew it was a funky read, showing more break than he believed it needed. In the last few months, as Thomas pushed himself closer and closer to a breakthrough victory, he’s leaned on his instincts.

Why stop now?

So Thomas trusted his gut, set his line just marginally outside the left edge and hoped. His gaze never wavered as the birdie putt tracked toward the pin. The ball didn’t either.

There was hardly any relief as the putt disappeared into the cup, mostly just an overwhelming sense of joy.

You’re never quite sure where players will fall on that spectrum. Just last week at the Masters Tournament, Rory McIlroy revealed it was only relief that poured out of him as he secured his green jacket, the one thing that he spent more than a decade chasing.

Thomas didn’t have to wait that long to win again, nor was he trying to accomplish a feat as historic as McIlroy's, but Thomas waited much longer than he hoped. And the emotion that poured out on Harbour Town’s 18th green looked plenty similar to those from Augusta National a week earlier.

“When the ball went in, Thomas said, “it was pure joy … I just was so happy. I couldn't stop smiling.

“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.”

For the past three years, Thomas pondered when he would win again. Sometimes it was spurred by media questions, other times just bubbling up in his head during the low moments. All those questions can be put to rest now.

Thomas won the RBC Heritage on Sunday in a playoff over Andrew Novak, pouring in that 21-foot birdie putt to secure his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship. The win filled the lone void in Thomas’ comeback story.

In those intervening 1,064 days, Thomas has endured a lot. The former world No. 1 bottomed out in 2023 as his form frayed and he heaped pressure on himself to make the U.S. Ryder Cup Team. He missed the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time in his career, shot in the 80s in back-to-back major championships and stopped working closely with his swing coach and father, Mike.

Thomas’ form returned for spurts of 2024, enough to earn a spot in the TOUR Championship, but it was far from what he expected of himself. He failed to make the Presidents Cup U.S. Team and never truly contended on the back nine of a final round. On Sunday, he admitted he was too caught up in trying to end his winless drought. Again, he was piling on self-inflicted pressure.

The start of 2025 was different, though. Thomas finished runner-up at The American Express and added top-10 finishes at the WM Phoenix Open and The Genesis Invitational. For whatever reason, he didn’t feel that weight to win, either. Then he contended again at the Valspar Championship, his best chance yet. He led the tournament with three holes to play, but he bogeyed two of the last three holes to lose to Viktor Hovland. What many thought would be a crushing defeat was far from it in Thomas’ eyes.

“I'll take a lot of good,” Thomas said after the loss. “Way, way more good than bad … I'm very, very proud of myself.”

And it didn’t feel like a matter of if he would win again, but when.

“That’s certainly the way he needed to be thinking,” said Jordan Spieth, Thomas’ closest friend on TOUR. “When I went through a drought, and I’m back in one now, but as I started to play consistently well it was like, ‘Alright, I could have easily done it this week but I just keep doing what I’m doing.’ That’s what he’s been doing.”

Thomas preached patience this week at RBC Heritage. Harbour Town is a scoreable course when in the fairway. But as soon as you try to overpower it, the course will bite back. On the first hole Sunday, Thomas pulled a wood and hit a stinger, never giving the ball a chance to veer offline. He did that throughout the final round, a bogey-free 3-under 68.

“I remembered specifically telling myself in Tampa that starting a little back or being in the position I was going into Sunday, if I could go bogey-free, I felt like that was huge,” Thomas said. “... Most likely other guys are going to make some bogeys, whether it be one or multiple. Not everyone is going to go bogey-free. I felt like I put a lot of emphasis on that and playing smart and picking my spots of, like, if I can go bogey-free, I feel like that's really going to put me in position.”

Thomas opened with four pars, then took advantage of the gettable par-5 fifth. After laying up to 91 yards, Thomas wedged one to 7 feet and poured in the putt. He added another birdie at the par-4 eighth, holing a 13-foot birdie, to make the turn in 2-under. He began the back nine with five pars, then took advantage of the lone par-5 on the way home. After an errant drive at the 15th, Thomas again laid up. His approach was mediocre, settling 25 feet from the pin, but Thomas’ putter bailed him out as he sunk the putt, fist-pumping as he walked toward the hole.

Going bogey-free nearly wasn’t enough, though. After parring the final three holes, Thomas still found himself tied with Novak, who was one group behind. Thomas watched powerless from the scoring area as Novak stuck his approach on 18 to within 8 feet for birdie.

That’s all that stood between Thomas and another close call. But while the breaks didn’t go his way in Tampa, they did in Hilton Head. Novak missed, and that was the only opening Thomas needed.

Both players hit the green with their approaches as they played the 18th hole again. Novak left his 34-foot putt short.

Then Thomas did what he did, holing the putt and throwing his putter in celebration. His family was there moments later to congratulate him.

“Unfortunately we had the disappointing walk together as a family in Tampa,” Thomas said. “So it was great to have them there behind the green and be able to enjoy that win and celebrate with them. The joy and excitement it brought to me to be able to see them after the putt went in and even walking up to the green was something I definitely didn't think I would feel in the past.

"I didn't realize how much I missed winning,” he added.

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