Monday Morning Caddy - August 14, 2017

February 14, 2017 Sara Rubin Comments

Justin Thomas wins his first Major tournament, Rory may be out for the season and Jon Rahm hits an epic backwards chip in this week's Monday Morning Caddy.

Justin Thomas Wins First Major

Sunday at the 99th PGA Championship was one that 24-year old Justin Thomas will certainly remember for a long time.  Thomas had already racked up five tour wins in his short career, but the Wannamaker Trophy is certainly his most illustrious prize.  Thomas comes from a long line of golfers – his father and grandfather were both pros and Justin certainly made them proud with his win.

Thomas’ win at the PGA, along with his four other tour wins this year, also makes him a frontrunner for Player of the Year.  This is an honor that looked like it would probably be going to Thomas’ close buddy, Jordan Spieth until Thomas pulled ahead of Kisner and company on Sunday.  Whomever wins the Player of the year honor, it appears that these guys will support and cheer each other on, as witnessed at all of the major events this year.

Rory May Be Out for the Year

Watching former World #1 swing at the PGA Championship this past week was painful in a few ways.  You could tell that he was not feeling his best and his score (a one over) reflected that.  David Duval, himself a former World #1, who was sidelined by a back injury, had this to say:

"He needs to go home. He needs to stop playing right now. He's hurt and I am watching his golf swing deteriorate," he said. "If only I could go back and tell myself 18-20 years go when I started having those problems, 'Stop, get healthy.' He could do himself a big service. He's always had a little bit of a hitch with the driver in terms of flattening out a little but it is getting a lot more pronounced right now and I think that is due to that rib injury."

After his final round, McIlroy did attribute his poor performance to a back injury and the still lingering effects of a rib fracture from earlier this year.  Rory is now heading back to Northern Ireland to rest and to determine if pro play is in the cards for the rest of 2017.

Watch John Rahm Hit an Epic Shot Backwards

Even though Jon Rahm was never really in contention at the 2017 PGA Championship, he did have a breakthrough moment on Sunday.  Rahm’s second shot on the Par 4 18^th Hole landed just inside a hazard line near a creek.  Not wanting to stand in the water to hit his third shot, Rahm did the only logical thing and turned his back to the hole and swung one handed.  What was most incredible was the result – he landed that insane shot on the green!  He then went on to two-putt for bogey, but his backwards shot was incredibly entertaining.  Watch it here:

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