PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Justin Thomas firmly embraced his father, Mike, who awaited his son Sunday evening behind the 18th green at TPC Sawgrass.
The two men had endured some emotionally draining, grief-filled weeks. Now they could celebrate the gift of golf Paul Thomas — Mike’s father — had given them over the years before he passed away in early February.
Justin Thomas’ record-setting weekend, capped by a ball-striking clinic Sunday, ended with a one-shot, come-from-behind victory over Lee Westwood during the Players Championship.
“I wish I could talk to him; I know he’s watching,” Thomas, choking up, said of Paul, a longtime PGA professional and key influence on his grandson’s career.