2 weeks Ago
HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Justin Thomas dropped his putter and raised his arms in victory before the clinching putt even tumbled into the hole on Sunday. Meanwhile, Andrew Novak put his hands on his hips and kind of looked around the 18th green seeking either direction for what's next or confirmation that things were done. Verification came when the same cannon that signals the start of tournament week at Harbour Town also announced the RBC Heritage’s completion.
To his credit, the explosion didn’t startle Novak, an alum of Academic Magnet High School and later Wofford. He was too deep in his thoughts at that moment. But the unfairness of it all was palpable to anyone who absorbed the entire scene.
Thomas has everything Novak wants professionally, and so much of it. Such is the nature of competition, capitalism and pretty much all the other pillars of our society. The old golf cliche about “if you don’t like how much you’re making, then play better” really isn’t a cliche.
It’s a hardcore fact. J.T.
— for only one stroke, but the one that ultimately mattered most — played better than Novak when it counted most. He won the RBC Heritage via a 21-foot putt for birdie , beating Novak in this event’s third playoff in four years. “Justin went out and won it,” Novak, who recently turned 30, said.
“Nothing you can really do about it.” Thomas, only two years older, now has 17 career victories, Novak remains winless. As if he wasn’t already, Thomas is guaranteed a spot in the majors and other top-tier events for the foreseeable future.
Novak has done so much to elevate himself during the best season of his golfing life, a season that so far has three top-three finishes (also firsts). Yet he needed clarity from an official to confirm he has a spot in the PGA Championship (via earnings) and the U.S.
Open (he’s 34th in the Official World Golf Rankings). He clawed his way into three of the other four Signature Events this season, but Novak backed his way into this tournament. He landed here when the field couldn’t be stacked with the minimum number of automatic qualifiers.
It was something of a home game, too, considering his Charleston roots and that he lives in nearby Sea Island, Ga. Novak made the most of it by securing easily the biggest payday of his eight-year pro career on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour ($2.16 million).
But, once more, no win. Some would say it was the continuation of the natural order of things, a two-time major winner capping off a tournament he opened by tying Harbour Town’s course record. Thomas now has his first win in nearly three years and a ton of momentum with the PGA Championship only a few weeks away.
The odd part is that Novak seemed to be the aggressor on Sunday. After all, it was Novak who had played quickly throughout the week and aggressively attacked pins down the stretch. He went about his work much quicker than someone who’s not only never won a PGA Tour event, but hadn’t played this course until last Tuesday.
His rhythm communicated confidence through playing in the final group and the playoff (both also firsts). That confidence is his biggest asset. A quick scan of his season-long stats is underwhelming.
Novak hasn’t been particularly good at anything; certainly not great at any one facet of the game. And that goes a long way toward explaining the rhythm of his season. One way to look at it is make a cut, miss a cut, make a cut, miss a cut; another is almost win, almost win, almost win.
And after watching him at Harbour Town — taking the No. 6 player in the world to a 73rd hole on a day when Scottie Scheffler, the defending champ, was lurking — you get the feeling he’s close. He even said he felt more relaxed in the playoff than during regulation despite the sudden-death pressure.
That’s confidence personified. Maybe it’s his nature, the product from years of grinding to create moments such as what materialized Sunday. Perhaps its the nurturing circle of support that followed him all week and carried him off the 18th green after his best shot at winning escaped.
There wasn't much sympathy, but celebration and a sense that Novak being in it to win it is normal even if Sunday was landmark territory. His group of family and friends didn't seem to be grieving behind their smiles while posing for group pictures, that's for sure. The truth is this is likely how he’s wired.
After all, a guy with zero wins who’s only even played in one major championship (a missed cut at the 2022 U.S. Open) was pondering his Ryder Cup chances even after a defeat.
“I need to go out there and get a win at some point," Novak said. "But, yeah, all of these finishes are great. I have big goals for the year.
Obviously this is going to look good for (United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley). And I've got a lot more to do as far as that, but I'm putting my name up there, and next step is just to win.” The thing is, he puts off the sense that he'll know exactly how to act when that day ever comes.
.
