Palm Harbor, FL – Justin Thomas stood on the 18th green at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course, hands on his hips, staring down at the turf as Viktor Hovland’s victory at the Valspar Championship sank in.
Moments earlier, Thomas had watched a three-shot lead evaporate in the brutal closing stretch known as the “Snake Pit,” a collapse that handed the trophy to the Norwegian in a gut-wrenching finish. Yet, amid the sting of what many fans and media are calling a “choke job for the ages,” Thomas found something unexpected: pride.
The final round had been a rollercoaster for the 31-year-old former world No. 1. After barely making the cut with a shaky 1-over-par 143 through two rounds — including a front-nine 40 on Thursday — Thomas roared back with a 6-under 65 on Saturday, vaulting into contention at 5-under for the tournament. Sunday started with so much promise: a four-birdie blitz in a five-hole stretch, including a 20-footer on the par-3 15th, pushed him to 12-under and gave him a three-shot cushion over Hovland with just three holes to play. The crowd buzzed, sensing the end of Thomas’ nearly three-year winless drought since the 2022 PGA Championship.
Then came the collapse. On the par-4 16th — the toughest hole on the course — Thomas, leading by two at the time, inexplicably chose to hit driver. He proceeded to hook it sharply into the trees. A punched-out approach from pine straw and a missed par putt left him with a bogey, trimming his lead to just one.
A proud Thomas refused to even second guess his choice of club off the tee.
“I felt like, you know, it was tough, and I understood the situation with a couple-shot lead, it’s like, ‘what do I do?'” Thomas said.
“But, you know, like I told Rev (his caddie) ‘why would I do anything differently?’
“I didn’t feel like it was necessarily a stupid play. I think I could have made 5 just as easily hitting a 3-wood or 5-wood. I would say it was more the putt not going in on 17 and bogeying 18 that hurts more.”
Meanwhile, Hovland, playing behind, answered with a birdie on 16, tying the score. On the par-3 17th, Thomas steadied himself with a par, but Hovland drained a 12-footer for another birdie, seizing a one-shot lead. The dagger came on 18: a poor tee shot by Thomas found the rough, his approach landed in a greenside bunker, and a bogey sealed his fate — a 5-under 66 for the day, 10-under 274 for the tournament, one shot shy of Hovland’s winning 11-under 273 score.
The collapse was stark: from a three-shot lead to a one-shot deficit in Hovland’s favor in just 22 minutes. Fans on social media lit up with reactions, one calling it “a choke for the ages,” others calling it “karma” for Thomas’ mocking of Mito Pereria’s collapse at the 2022 PGA.
Yet, as he faced the media afterward, Thomas’s voice carried a surprising tone — not just dejection, but defiance and spin.
“I’m proud of myself,” he said, his eyes still red from the adrenaline and disappointment. “I felt so good out there, so excited for every shot.”
His narrative continued, “Hell, there’s not much I can do — he birdied 16 and 17,” before catching how ridiculous that probably sounded, adding, “I obviously made it a lot easier on him with those bogeys, but I’ll take this feeling into Augusta.”
It was a candid admission of failure paired with a refusal to let it be defined as a choke. Thomas pointed to the week’s highs: a Saturday 65 that was a tournament best, back-to-back low rounds (65-66), a final 36-hole tournament record (65-66-131), and a Sunday charge that had him atop the leaderboard deep into the back nine.
“It sucks not winning when you’re that close,” he added, “but I’ve been searching for this kind of form.
“To play like that, even with the finish, tells me I’m close.”
The Copperhead Course’s infamous finish had chewed him Thomas, no question. The “Snake Pit” lived up to its name — Thomas’ two bogeys (16 and 18) contrasted sharply with Hovland’s two birdies (16 and 17), flipping his odds from -3000 (lock) before his tee shot on 16 to +3500 (longshot) after his tee shot on 18.
But Thomas continued to lean into the narrative of deflection, insinuating that Hovland won it more than Thomas lost it. After all, even with the two bogeys on the final three holes, he did produce a 5-under 66, which tied for the day’s low score.
“I would have felt like if I shot that (66) before the day started it would have been good enough,” said Thomas. “I mean Viktor obviously played an unbelievable round as well, birdieing 16 and 17, you know, he played great, he earned it. Yeah, I have a lot of positives to build on.”
Again, trying to set the best narrative: “I didn’t just fall apart. Viktor went out and took it.”
Pride after a choke job might sound like spin, but for Thomas, it was about perspective.
“I’m not happy, don’t get me wrong,” he said. “But I’m proud of how I hung in there this week. It’s something to build on.”
As Hovland hoisted the trophy, Thomas lingered near the scoring tent, chatting with his former caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay. The Masters loomed three weeks away, and Augusta’s ghosts whispered in the background. If Thomas could carry this pride – some would call spin and delusion – down Magnolia Lane, maybe the Valspar collapse would be just a chapter, not the story. For now, though, it was a heck of a plot twist — one that left him bruised, no matter the spin.
