PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The crowd assembled around the famous 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass stood in unison. Justin Thomas had just hit it to 18 feet on the island green -- a satisfactory result -- but it was what Thomas had crafted in the previous 16 holes that had fans all clamoring his name.
After starting his second round at 6 over, tied for 134th place and 12 shots behind the leader, Thomas had turned TPC Sawgrass into his playground, pouring in 10 birdies over 16 holes and shooting up the leaderboard of the Players Championship.