The Punter's De-brief: Thomas triumphs again after three years

• Odds-on shots beaten at all three tournaments

• The Punter's pick, Higgo, wins the Corales

• Read my Zurich Classic preview here

Justin Thomas was in search of his first victory on the PGA Tour in almost three years when he lined up at Hilton Head on Thursday following a disappointing US Masters the week before, where he'd finished tied for 36^th behind Rory McIlroy.

The pre-event 27.026/1 chance had been knocking on the door with four top-tens in 2025, including second place finishes at the American Express in January and the Valspar Championship at the end of March and he began the RBC Heritage in fine style, tying the course record with a sensational 61 to lead by three.

His lead was cut to two at the halfway stage and trading at 3/14.00 with a round to go, he was trailing Si Woo Kim by a stroke alongside longshot, Andrew Novak, in a tie for second.

Thomas caught a remarkable break early on in round four when his tee-shot on the par three fourth came to rest in-between the sleepers that surround the green above the water and that gave him momentum.

He made a fabulous par there and a birdie at the fifth to hit the front.

The 54-hole leader, Si Woo Kim, never really got going and when challenges by Maverick McNealy, the defending champ, Scottie Scheffler, and my 65.064/1 in-play pick, Brian Harman, all fizzled out, Thomas and Novak were left to battle it out deep into the back nine.

Thomas hit the front with a birdie at the par five 15^th but Novak, a pre-event 230.0229/1 chance, responded brilliantly with a birdie at the tough 16^th and Thomas' second big break of the day came when he sat in the clubhouse.

Novak was matched at a low of 1.491/2 before he missed a chance to take the title on the 72^nd hole from just outside eight feet and we were into extra time.

Trading at around 1.75/7, Thomas was favourite to win the playoff, and the market was correct to favour the 31-year-old when he settled the affair at the first opportunity.

WALK-OFF WINNER!

Euphoria for @JustinThomas34! pic.twitter.com/PzxhmmIhVA

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 2025

Punter's pick Higgo claims the spoils in the Dominican

Over at the Corales Puntacana Championship, pre-event 50.049/1 chance, Joel Dahmen, led by two after round one and by four at halfway. And he was trading at around even money when he led by three with 18 to play.

My 60.059/1 pre-event fancy, Garrick Higgo, who went off at 55.054/1, was one of three men tied for second and he was a 9/110.00 chance with a round to go.

Although he bogeyed the second hole, Dahmen started round four nicely enough and he was very much the man to beat with three holes to play but the nerves kicked in and a bogey at 16 was followed by another at the tricky par three 17^th when he missed this tiny par putt.

Winning is hard.

A bogey for Joel Dahmen and he's now tied for the lead headed to the 72nd hole @CoralesChamp pic.twitter.com/VQI3AjeTAa

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 20, 2025

Having got to two-under-par for the day with a birdie at the 10^th, I thought my man had blown it when he played his last eight holes in two-over-par but with Dahmen wobbling, he'd gone from trailing by two to tied at the top as the 54-hole leader stood on the 18^th tee.

It would have been some effort by Dahmen to turn his fortunes around after back-to-back bogeys at 16 and 17 and he inevitably dropped another at the last to hand Higgo the title.

It was a really tough finish for one of the Tours likeable characters and his candid interview afterwards was a tough watch.

An honest interview with Joel Dahmen who finished bogey-bogey-bogey to lose by 1 @CoralesChamp pic.twitter.com/GSXna984NW

-- PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 21, 2025

Huge outsider Wu wins national title again 

Over on the DP World Tour, home hero, Haotong Li, began the final round of the Volvo China Open tied for the lead with the recent Indian Open winner, Eugenio Chacarra, and I was quite keen on his chances but he caught a terrible break on the opening hole when his approach hit the back of the hole and bounced long of the green from where he was unable to save par.

"Has that gone in? HAS THAT GONE IN?"

Haotong Li hits the cup inside the hole and the ball bounces out #VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/dDvfNfd9xA

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 20, 2025

It was a bizarre start to Li's round, but all the leaders were dropping shots, and it didn't take long for Jordan Smith to emerge as the most likely winner, after he opened round four with birdies at one, three and four.

The Englishman had been trading at around 14.013/1 prior to the fourth and final round but after back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11, following a double-bogey at nine, with most of the contenders floundering, Smith looked the man to beat on the back-nine.

Smith was matched at as low as 1.75/7, as he led the event with just three to play but his playing partner, Ashun Wu, who had been matched at as high as 530.0529/1 before the off, drew level with the Englishman when he birdied the 16^th.

With the drivable par four 17^th and the par five 18^th to play, the market still favoured Smith but after Wu had driven into a greenside bunker on 17, Smith hit a terrible drive that found the scrubby rough to the right of the fairway.

After taking a drop, Smith failed to rescue his par and when Wu holed for birdie he marched to the last with a two-stroke lead.

Wu, who was generally a 450.0449/1 shot before the off, was backed down from 120.0119/1 to 60.059/1 in-between rounds three and four when he trailed by four strokes in a tie for eighth and with the benefit of hindsight, those odds were ridiculous.

Wu had won his national title for the first time ten years earlier and this was his fifth victory on the DP World Tour.

2015 2025

Ashun Wu's first win on the DP World Tour was 9 years and 359 days ago at the Volvo China Open. Today, he's just won it again for the second time #VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/PgiFgQcSrH

-- DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 20, 2025

He's inconsistent and he'd missed the cut in his two previous outings on the DP World Tour in 2025 - at the Dubai Desert Classic and the Kenya Open - but he certainly knows how to close an event if he gets the chance.

*You can follow me on Twitter @SteveThePunter

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