Streeter LeckaCHARLOTTE, NC – AUGUST 11: Justin Thomas of the United States reacts to his putt on the second hole during the second round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)Long before a back-nine birdie binge, Justin Thomas' Sunday charge at the 99th PGA Championship began with. . . a bogey. After missing the green with his approach shot on the first hole, Thomas bladed a bunker shot into another bunker, blasted out to about 14 feet, and drained the putt to avoid an opening disaster. The make was a sign of things to come — and a continuance of how Thomas has operated all season.
Thomas went on to claim his first major title, and it was his major edge over the rest of the field in putts longer than 10 feet that made the difference. In addition to that bogey putt on the first hole, Thomas made three other putts from that range on Sunday, a 16-footer for birdie on No. 2, a 36-foote..
