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WATCH: Justin Thomas sinks putt to win RBC Heritage in emotional playoff vs. Andrew Novak

WATCH: Justin Thomas sinks putt to win RBC Heritage in emotional playoff vs. Andrew Novak

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By: Zach Thompson

The RBC Heritage started with a crowded leaderboard, but it very quickly developed into a two-man race between Justin Thomas ($10,200; FPTS) and Andrew Novak ($6,700; FPTS). It took an extra hole, but ultimately, Thomas emerged with his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship.

Thomas has now racked up 16 PGA TOUR victories in his career, with two major championship wins at the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022. Five of those wins have required extra holes before crowning him as champion. He claimed this victory with this 21-foot birdie on the first hole of the playoff this week.

After Brian Harman ($7,600; 105.5 FPTS) and Scottie Scheffler ($13,100; 90.5 FPTS) dropped off and third-round leader Si Woo Kim ($7,600; 94.5 FPTS) faded as well. It was just Thomas and Novak alone at the top. Thomas took the lead with a birdie on No. 15 but Novak answered with a birdie on No. 16. Novak had a long putt to win in regulation on No. 18, but both players made par and entered the playoff at -17 for the tournament after -3 rounds on Sunday.

In a four-way tie for third, Harman was joined by Maverick McNealy ($8,100; 98.5 FPTS), Daniel Berger ($8,300; 99.5 FPTS) and Mackenzie Hughes ($6,600; 112 FPTS). The best round of the day was a -7 from Bud Cauley ($7,500; 75 FPTS), who shot -7 to surge from T64 to T32.

For DFS, I highlighted Thomas as one of my top pivot plays of the week, and he paid off with just an 11.9% ownership in the PGA TOUR $1M SAND TRAP [$200K TO 1ST], which was just the 20th-highest of all golfers in the field.

Thomas was in the top entry in that contest which was from dbarzottini. That entry also included Berger, Harman and Hughes, who all tied for third in addition to Russell Henley ($9,700; 88.5 FPTS) and Kim, who finished T8. Even though the entry didn’t have Novak, with all six players finishing T8 or better, it totaled an impressive 627 fantasy points to finish 3.5 fantasy points clear of the rest of the field.

Zach Thompson

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is z.thompson) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.