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Justin Thomas is running away with the 2019 BMW Championship

By Brandon Raper

MEDINAH, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 17: Justin Thomas of the United States celebrates after chipping in on the 14th hole during the third round of the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club No. 3 on August 17, 2019 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
MEDINAH, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 17: Justin Thomas of the United States celebrates after chipping in on the 14th hole during the third round of the BMW Championship at Medinah Country Club No. 3 on August 17, 2019 in Medinah, Illinois. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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Justin Thomas is clearly “back”, and he’s making up for lost time by making the 2019 BMW Championship a race for second place.

Justin Thomas is sending a notice to the rest of the competitors on the PGA TOUR, for both the rest of the BMW Championship, and until further notice: he’s healthy, and he’s ready to start making his home at the top of leaderboards around the world once again.

Thomas shot a white-hot round of 11-under 61 in the third round of the BMW Championship at Medinah on Saturday, taking a six-shot lead over Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. He’s projected – shocker – to rise to the top of the FedEx Cup standings if he holds on to win on Sunday, giving him the inside track to the season title at East Lake.

Oh, yeah, Thomas just set the course record at the nearly 7,700-yard behemoth that is Course 3, breaking the 24-hour-old mark held by Hideki Matsuyama by two shots. This just two days after matching the old record of 65 that was held by Skip Kendall, Mike Weir, and a fellow by the name of Tiger Woods.

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You might remember that Woods matched Kendall’s mark in the third round of the 2006 PGA Championship, which he went on to win by five strokes. (Weir did, too, but he shot 73 the following day to finish sixth. Hey, they can’t all be winners.)

But back to Justin Thomas. He was a little bit forgotten about by many of us (well, me, not everyone) heading into these playoffs, and understandably so. He missed almost two months of action after the Masters, and it took him a little bit of time to get back into a groove. But those of us who slept on him are paying dearly right now. He’s ridden a streak of three straight top-15 finishes into the BMW, and he’s looking for more.

"“I’m trying to win by as many as I possibly can,” Thomas said regarding his plan for the final round yet to come. “This course is going to be gettable tomorrow and a lot of guys could do what I did today. I’m going to have to have another good round and see if we can make some history.”"

The numbers make it look like Thomas is basically invincible at this point. You want distance? He’s eighth in the field off the tee. Accuracy? A more-than-acceptable 34th. And don’t get me started on and around the greens. His chipping and putting have been otherworldly, and he’s not going to lose this lead by leaving strokes on the course with the putter.

And speaking of that history he’s looking for? Thomas could be in line to become just the second two-time FedEx Cup winner if he keeps this form going through next week at the TOUR Championship. That’s another of Tiger’s marks that he’s targeting, and it would come with a nice $15 million paycheck, too.

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It’s going to be an exciting finish at Medinah, either way. Just don’t expect to bet against Justin Thomas again anytime soon.

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