For the first time in nearly three years, Justin Thomas is back in the winner's circle, as the 31-year-old defeated Andrew Novak in a playoff at Harbour Town Golf Links to win the 2025 RBC Heritage, his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
Thomas kicked off the tournament with a bang, tying the course record at Harbour Town with a sizzling 10-under 61.
He fell back to the field with back-to-back 69s in Rounds 2 and 3, but a bogey-free 68 on Easter Sunday was enough to force a playoff with Novak. On the first extra hole, Thomas hit a long iron to 21 feet and drilled the putt to secure his 16th career PGA Tour win.
The winning photo from the 18th green will look a bit different than the others in Thomas' trophy case, and not just because his five-month-old daughter, Molly, is in the shot for the first time.
It's also the first appearance for Max Homa's former caddie, Joe Greiner, who jumped to JT's bag at The Masters as a temporary fill-in, as Thomas' full-time caddie, Matt "Rev" Minister, injured his back earlier this month and wasn't able to loop at Augusta National.
Greiner stepped in at the last minute to help out, and he sure is lucky he did. One week after The Masters, Greiner got the call again and aided Thomas to his first win on the PGA Tour in three years.
But that sets up a tricky decision for Thomas in the coming weeks.
Justin Thomas has to break some bad news soon
It didn't take long for Justin Thomas to settle in with Joe Greiner on the bag, as JT claims the win at the @RBC_Heritage!🤝
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) April 21, 2025
Tom Werme (@twerme) assesses what he saw from the pair in just their second week working together after walking with them all four days inside the ropes: pic.twitter.com/PGCZFb1nd0
As mentioned, Thomas needed a temporary caddie after Minister went down with a back injury. It just so happened that the biggest free agent on the looper market was a good friend he's known for more than a decade.
Greiner had carried Homa's bag for several years, so he and Thomas got to know each other well at PGA Tour events and international competitions over the years.
The duo probably didn't expect to win this quickly, but now that they have, Thomas has a tough decision to make. He clearly has a strong rapport with Greiner, who has the experience and winning pedigree that top players always look for in a caddie.
It's hard to imagine Thomas is fully loyal to Minister at this point. The two have been working together for only a year and obviously haven't recorded a win in that span. Meanwhile, Greiner hops on board with no prior knowledge of Thomas' preferences on the course and helps him to a win in just his second week on the bag. That's going to stick in JT's mind.
Over the next few days and weeks, Thomas will be mulling his future and who he wants beside him when the pressure is on and they need to make a tough decision on the 72nd hole. Either way, he'll have to break the bad news to one of his good friends about one of the most coveted caddie jobs in the sport.