Justin Thomas Cards a 59 in First Round of Sony Open

At the rate he has been playing, Justin Thomas may not ever want to leave the Hawaiian Islands.  After putting on a show to win the SBS Tournament of Champions last week in Hawaii, Thomas continued his Hawaiian hot streak by carding a 59 in the first round of the Sony Open.

59!

Justin Thomas shoots a 59 in the opening round of the @SonyOpenHawaii. pic.twitter.com/EnU86k8xuU

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 12, 2017

In his blistering start to the Sony Open, Thomas became part of an exclusive club, becoming only the seventh player in PGA TOUR history to shoot 59 during a Tour event.  And not only did Thomas join some elite company with his round, he also became the youngest player to ever card a 59 as a professional.

Thomas was able to accomplish this feat by playing a strong, steady round all day.  Justin started his round with a beautiful drive of the first tee, followed by a pitch in on his second shot for an opening eagle. F rom there, it was off to the races as he was able to birdie eight of the following holes while only surrendering one bogey.

The turning point came when Thomas birdied holes 13 through 18, excluding only the 15th hole.  At that point, Thomas admitted that he began thinking about a possible 59.  He stated after his round that, “(The thought of a 59) honestly entered my brain in 18 fairway.  You think I’m going to make birdie here and turn in 6 (under).  As well as I was driving it, I can go shoot 6 or 7 (under) on this (final) side.”

Thomas capped off his historic round and earned the 59 after making a 15-foot eagle putt on the 9th hole, the last hole of his round.  His playing partners, friends Jordan Spieth and Daniel Berger certainly took notice of how well Thomas was playing and didn’t want to jinx him.

Spieth said after the round that, “It’s like sitting on the bench on the same team when someone’s throwing a perfect game.  You want to stay in the same rhythm you’ve been staying in the whole day.  Certainly never bring it (the possibility of 59) up.”

While Thomas will have this day to remember for the rest of his life, he will still have three more rounds to play and we will see if his opening 59 will be enough to carry him to victory in the Sony Open.

Cover Photo via Twitter