Justin Thomas beat Andrew Novak in a playoff at the RBC Heritage to end his three-year wait on the PGA Tour for a tournament victory.
The American pair both finished on 17-under-par through 72 holes at the Harbour Town Golf Links on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island.
Thomas, who opened by tying the course record with a 61, finished with a bogey-free 68, Novak matching his score after an up and down front nine.
In the play-off, Thomas snatched his first opportunity as he sank a 21-foot birdie putt after Novak missed from 35 feet.
It was Thomas’s 16th win on the PGA Tour but his first since the 2022 PGA Championship.
“Winning is hard. It’s really, really hard,” he said on the 18th green after his victory.
“I’ve worked my butt off and stayed patient, stayed positive.”
Daniel Berger shot a closing 65 to finish three shots off the pace in a tie for third alongside Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and fellow Americans Brian Harman and Maverick McNealy.
Shane Lowry finished on nine under in a tied for 18th after a final round of 70.
On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire finished in a tied for 37th as Ingrid Lindblad won the JM Eagle LA Championship in only her third start on the tour.
The Swede was preparing for a potential playoff as Iwai and Coughlin played the par-4 18th; Iwai was at 21 under after her fifth birdie of the day at 16, and Coughlin was in the hunt at 20 under.
Neither player hit the green in regulation, and Iwai’s chip rolled past the pin and left her several feet for par to force a playoff. The left-to-right putt missed narrowly to the right of the cup, leaving Iwai to settle for a 69 and second place.
Lindblad (25) said she was “a little bit” surprised she earned her maiden LPGA win so soon.
“I mean, you should never not expect it, right?” she said on the Golf Channel broadcast. “But obviously got it done in a couple starts. It’s kind of crazy.”
