LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford beat the rain Friday in the CareerBuilder Challenge, and Phil Mickelson played his best in the worst of the conditions.

Then, there’s Danny Lee.

“I actually wanted to play in the rain, so I could experiment with myself,” Lee said. “Hopefully, it rains tomorrow.”

The New Zealander probably won’t get his wish Saturday, but another storm could pass through the desert oasis Sunday afternoon.

Swafford finished just before the rain moved in, shooting his second straight 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead. Winless in his four-year PGA Tour career, the former Georgia star had a bogey-free round on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West after opening the pro-am tournament Thursday at La Quinta Country Club.

“Managed to keep the ball in the fairway,” Swafford said. “That gives you a lot of nice approach shots into greens. I’m driving the ball beautifully.”

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch (68) and Nick Taylor (62) and Adam Hadwin (69), both of Abbotsford, B.C., were the top Canadians heading into the weekend at 4 under.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., (70) was at 3 under, with Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., (69) another stroke back at 2 under.

The rain-seeking Lee and first-round leader Dominic Bozzelli were tied for second.

Lee closed with a birdie for a 64 at La Quinta, far exceeding his expectations after a month off.

“Just trying to break 80, seriously,” Lee said. “Trying to not shoot something overly ridiculous, since I’m playing with the amateurs.”

Bozzelli followed an opening 64 on PGA West’s Stadium Course with a 67 at La Quinta.

“It wasn’t my best today, but I was able to save par, made some pretty big par saves throughout the round and kept it going,” Bozzelli said. “Actually, pretty lucky that weather held off a little bit longer than I thought it would.”

The tee times were moved up an hour to 7:30 a.m., and Swafford and many players finished before the storm rolled in over the San Jacinto Mountains at about 1 p.m.

“I had a full rain suit, five towels in the bag,” said Swafford, coming off a tie for 13th last week in Hawaii in the Sony Open. “My caddie was griping all day about how heavy it was. But I made a few birdies early and he said the bag was getting a little lighter.”

Mickelson got to use all of his rain gear, playing the final six holes in intermittent showers in the second-to-last group off the 10th tee on the Nicklaus course. The tournament ambassador followed an opening 68 at La Quinta with a 66 to reach 10 under in his return from two sports hernia surgeries.

“I hit a lot more good shots today than I did yesterday, but I’m still hitting some really bad ones,” said Mickelson, the 2002 and 2004 winner. “And that’s fine. It’s to be expected. I knew that was going to happen, but I’ve been able to kind of manage those and get away with some pars.”

The 46-year-old Mickelson had surgery Oct. 19 – three days after tying for eighth in the season-opening Safeway Open – and again Dec. 12.

Lefty made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 11th – his second hole – and holed a bunker shot for birdie on the par-4 first. In the rain, he birdied Nos. 4-6 and closed with three pars with the wind picking up.

“It was really hard in these conditions,” Mickelson said. “I actually made some birdies in these conditions, so I felt very fortunate with the score that I had in this weather. The back nine I played some really good golf.”

Brendan Steele, the Safeway winner from the nearby mountain town of Idyllwild, was two strokes back at 12 under with Brian Harman. Steele shot a 64 on the Nicklaus layout, birdieing four of the last six holes.

“It was nice of them to move the tee times up for us as it starts to rain right now,” Steele said. “I was able to get done just in time and took advantage of some good conditions.”

Harman had a 65 on the Stadium Course, the toughest of the three layouts and the site of the final round.

DIVOTS: Defending champion Jason Dufner shot a 66 on the Nicklaus layout to reach 7 under. … Patrick Reed, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 9, was 4 under after a 71 on the Nicklaus course. He won in 2014, shooting 63-63-63-71 to break the PGA Tour record for relation to par for the first 54 holes at 27 under and become the first player in tour history to open with three rounds of 63 or better. … Bill Haas, the 2010 and 2015 winner, also was 4 under. He’s playing alongside Mickelson.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Phil Mickelson hit his opening tee shot so poorly in morning rain and cold that he hit a provisional ball just to get in another swing.

He scrambled to par the hole and went on to shoot a 4-under 68 on Thursday in the CareerBuilder Challenge, leaving him four strokes back in his return from two sports hernia surgeries.

“I struck it horrible, but I scored out of my mind,” Mickelson said. “So, I’m very happy with it. My first round of golf was Saturday and I’ve been able to work out just the last two weeks.”

Lefty hooked his first tee shot into the trees at La Quinta Country Club, then reloaded and hit the provisional into the fairway.

“That next hole, the second hole’s an extremely difficult drive and I wanted to just get another swing,” Mickelson said.

He found the first ball and hammered a shot under the trees to just off the front of the green.

“It was really a great day for me because I scored so much better than I played,” Mickelson said. “And when I finally did hit some really good shots I ended up close and made a few birdies. And when I hit some really bad shots – and I hit some really bad shots – I was still able to salvage some up-and-downs for pars.”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot 71’s. Ottawa’s Brad Fritsche and Nick Taylor, also of Abbotsford, had 72’s and Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., shot a 73.

Tour rookie Dominic Bozzelli shot a 64 on the Stadium Course at PGA West – the most difficult of the three courses – to top the leaderboard. He holed out from 115 yards for eagle on the par-4 14th.

“Been working hard back home, doing all right things on and off the course, and it’s nice to come out and have that hard work pay off,” Bozzelli said.

Jhonattan Vegas, the 2011 champion, was a stroke back at 65 along with Harold Varner III, Hudson Swafford and Patton Kizzire. Vegas and Kizzire played PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course, and Varner and Swafford opened at La Quinta.

Rain fell off and on in the morning and more was expected Friday, with the PGA Tour moving the tee times up an hour.

“Ain’t nobody never comfortable when you’re having to play golf when it’s raining and a little cool like it was,” Boo Weekley said after a 66 on the Stadium Course.

Play started with the temperature in lows 50s and it barely climbed into the 60s in the afternoon. The forecast high Friday was 61.

“The ball didn’t go as far, but you don’t have to hit it that far out here,” Varner said.

The 46-year-old Mickelson had surgery Oct. 19 – three days after tying for eighth in the season-opening Safeway Open – and again Dec. 12.

“I feel fine,” Mickelson said. “I’ve been able to work out the last two weeks. And again, you start out real slow, but you get back to it, you get it back pretty quick.”

His caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay also made a comeback after having both knees replaced.

Mickelson won the 2002 and 2004 events and tied for third last year. The first-year tournament ambassador won the last of his 42 PGA Tour titles in the 2013 British Open.

“There’s no better place to learn and to get better than to come out here on these great golf courses and put it to the test,” Mickelson said. “You can get away with some mistakes, and I was able to salvage a few pars with up-and-downs, so it doesn’t beat you up too bad. It’s a perfect place to start the year.”

Wearing a jacket with a logo of his leaping celebration in the 2004 Masters, Lefty hit a wedge to 2 feet for birdie on the par-4 fourth and also birdied the par-5 sixth and par-4 eighth. On the par-4 ninth, he made a 45-foot birdie putt after driving left onto the adjacent first hole.

Mickelson had his best par save on the par-4 16th after losing another drive to the left. He hit under the trees into the front left bunker, blasted short into the fringe and holed an 18-foot chip. He bogeyed the par-4 17th after driving into the left bunker, and made an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

DIVOTS: The players averaged 71.423 on Stadium Course, 70.327 on the Nicklaus layout, and 70.154 at La Quinta. … Bill Haas, the 2010 and 2015 winner, played alongside Mickelson, and matched him at 68. … Patrick Reed, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 9, had a 69 at La Quinta. He won in 2014, shooting 63-63-63-71 to break the PGA Tour record for relation to par for the first 54 holes at 27 under and become the first player in tour history to open with three rounds of 63 or better. … Defending champion Jason Dufner shot a 70 at La Quinta.

After a whirlwind 2016 that included a trip to the Rio Olympics, Canadian golfers David Hearn and Graham DeLaet are looking forward to a more straightforward year on the PGA Tour.

Both Hearn, 37, and DeLaet, who turns 35 on Sunday, are aware of the expectations they face as they chase a first Tour win. DeLaet got as high as 26th in the world rankings a few years ago, but the veterans have since seen younger players Nick Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes capture PGA Tour victories before they were able to crack the winner’s circle.

“I’d certainly love to get that first win soon,” said Hearn from his home in Delray Beach, Fla. “The guys are getting younger on Tour, there’s no doubt.

“Actually, they’re coming on at the same age, and I’m getting a little bit older,” he added with a laugh. “I’m excited and proud to see the young Canadians find success on the PGA Tour and winning tournaments, but I don’t think that puts extra pressure on me.”

DeLaet agrees.

“My motivation has always been the same no matter who I am competing against. Obviously these guys (Hughes and Taylor) are a new breed of golfers, but at the end of the day you just have to concentrate on your own game,” he explained from Boise, Idaho.

While both Hearn and DeLaet enjoyed a rare experience in Rio, where golf made its return after 112 years, DeLaet had another off-course highlight. He and his wife Ruby welcomed twins Roscoe and Lyla in late 2015 and it was his first full year as a father.

Although DeLaet said it was “the best year of (his) life,” he admitted he got frustrated battling injuries as he earned the least amount of money since his 2011 season. DeLaet, also withdrew from a tournament mid-summer, citing anxiety while chipping and putting.

“Battling injuries throughout most of a season is something no golfer wants to go through,” he said. “I think I learned not only how to take care of my body properly, but also how to fight through adversity.”

DeLaet also cultivated a now famous beard. He said it’s likely to be around for a while.

“There’s not strategy behind the beard, but I enjoy and appreciate the culture behind it,” he said. “There’s no specific plan for when I’ll shave or grow it. I just go day-to-day and make a decision depending on how I feel.”

Hearn had a steady season, finishing 56th in the FedEx Cup standings and earning more than US$1.2 million. But it was an adjustment year for him as well as it was the first full season he couldn’t use a long putter. The Rules of Golf banned anchoring a putter to one’s body, a technique Hearn had used for a number of years, on Jan. 1, 2016.

“It was obviously a transition year with the putter, so I spent a lot of time practising and put a lot of energy into that transition,” he said. “I played a lot of tournaments because it was a big year in terms of the Olympics, and I was a little bit tired going into the off-season.

“It was nice to have a good holiday and I feel ready to go, and very motivated to hit the ground running.”

2017 is also a Presidents Cup year – a biennial competition that pits golfers from the U.S. against golfers from around the world (except for Europe) – and both DeLaet, who has played in the competition once before, and Hearn, have it in their sights.

“Being Canadian is a source of pride to me, and I feel anyone would be honoured to represent their country in any fashion,” DeLaet said. “I would definitely say the Presidents Cup is a goal of mine, but I’m focused on my week-to-week performance and playing my best golf possible.”

The first full-field event of the 2017 portion of the 2016-17 PGA Tour is this week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, which features Hearn, Hughes, and Taylor. DeLaet will make his 2017 debut at the CareerBuilder Challenge next week in California.

HONOLULU – One last putt. One more record. And two unforgettable weeks in Hawaii for Justin Thomas.

Thomas began the Sony Open with a 15-foot eagle putt on his final hole to shoot 59. He ended it Sunday with a two-putt birdie from 60 feet that gave him yet another entry in the PGA Tour record book for the lowest 72-hole score in history.

His final act was to stand before the members of Waialae Country Club, champagne flute in hand for the traditional toast. Thomas chugged it down, smiled and said to them, “I think I had a glass with a hole in it.”

Bottoms up, kid.

The 23-year-old from Kentucky gave the best glimpse yet of his potential with a game that was at times overpowering and never more efficient. He closed with a 5-under 65 for a seven-shot victory, which gave him as much satisfaction as his score of 253 to set the record.

Thomas, who won the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last fall, became only the third player since 1970 to win three times in his first five tournaments to start a PGA Tour season. The others were Tiger Woods (three times) and Johnny Miller (twice).

His victory came one week after he won the SBS Tournament of Champions by three weeks at Kapalua.

“It’s been an unbelievable week. Unforgettable,” Thomas said before going to sign his historic card.

Thomas was more nervous than ever when he arrived Sunday from endless mentions that no one had ever lost a seven-shot lead on the PGA Tour. No one got closer than five shots all day, and with four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn, Thomas took aim at the record book.

That was his only real challenge Sunday.

Tommy Armour held the previous 72-hole mark at 254 in the 2003 Texas Open. Thomas also set the 36-hole record (123) and tied Steve Stricker for the 54-hole record (188). And while his 18-hole score of 59 is no longer a record, it’s still a magic number.

“I’m not joking when I say I won the other tournament,” Justin Rose said after a 64 that was only good for second place. “Had he had a bad day, I was there to pick up the pieces. But that was never going to happen. He’s on cruise control right now.”

Rose beat out Jordan Spieth, who also was playing for second place. Spieth shot 63 and finished alone in third.

Mackenzie Hughes, the only Canadian to make the 36-hole cut, shot a 68. The Dundas, Ont., native finished in 27th spot at 11 under.

The first full-field event of the year on the PGA Tour was a one-man show.

“He’s got full control of his game, full confidence, and he’s executing under pressure,” Spieth said. “It’s a lot of fun to see. Certainly stuff that myself and a lot of our peers have seen going back almost 10 years now. He’s certainly showing the world what he’s capable of.”

Thomas joined Ernie Els in 2003 as the only players to sweep Hawaii, and this performance might have been even better. Thomas was 49-under par for his two weeks, compared with Els at 47 under.

He said on Friday that he hasn’t “shown the world my best golf.” He came pretty close these last two weeks.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m playing OK,” Thomas said. “I would take the golf I played the last few weeks every week I play.”

He moved to No. 8 in the world.

Thomas, thinking more about the trophy and another record when he started the final round, took no chances early on. He was 1 over through seven holes, making a soft bogey with a three-putt from 45 feet on No. 4 and a tough par save on No. 6, and still no one got closer than five shots.

But when he poured in a 20-foot birdie putt on the eighth, Thomas shifted into another gear. That was the start of four birdies in five holes _ the exception was a birdie putt he missed from just inside 10 feet _ and he stretched his lead to as many as nine shots.

Waialae was vulnerable all week with not much wind, fast fairways and greens that were softer than usual. Thomas produced the eighth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history Thursday. Kevin Kisner had a shot at 59 on Saturday until missing a 9-foot eagle putt on his final hole. And on Sunday, Chez Reavie made a hole-in-one with a 6-iron on the 17th hole that gave him a shot at a sub-60 round. Only a bogey on the sixth hole (he started on No. 10) stopping him, and he had to settle for a 61. That matched the third-best score of the week.

Even in easier conditions, no one played like Thomas.

HONOLULU – Justin Thomas has turned the first full-field event of the year into a blowout.

With three birdies over the last five holes Saturday in the Sony Open – the last for another entry into the PGA Tour record book – Thomas played bogey-free and shot a 5-under 65 to stretch his lead to seven shots going into the final round at vulnerable Waialae Country Club.

No one has ever lost on the PGA Tour when leading by seven shots after 54 holes, which was brought to his attention.

“I’m more excited about the seven-shot lead than what you just said,” Thomas replied.

Staked to a five-shot lead, Thomas wanted to avoid giving anything back on another peaceful afternoon, and he only had one close call. He wound up with a seven-shot lead, the largest at the Sony Open since Jack Nicklaus led by six in 1974.

That’s not the record Thomas was thinking about when he reached the par-5 18th.

Each of the previous two rounds, he made eagle on his closing hole to get into the record book – a 59 on Thursday, and the PGA Tour’s 36-hole scoring record Friday. No such luck Saturday after he clipped a palm frond with his second shot into the par-5 18th and came up well short in the fairway. Thomas pitched to just inside 15 feet below the cup and poured it in , just like he’s been doing all week.

That put him at 22-under 188, tying the 54-hole record that Steve Stricker set in 2010 at the John Deere Classic with caddie Jimmy Johnson on his bag. Johnson now caddies for Thomas, though this performance surely stands out because no one is close to him.

Zach Johnson kept pace with a 65 and is leading the B-flight at 15-under 201.

“I’ve got to play the golf course,” Johnson said. “That’s my only competitor tomorrow.”

Thomas repeated at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia last fall, and it picked up some serious steam last week at Kapalua when he overcame a late blunder with birdies on his last two holes for a three-shot victory in the SBS Tournament of Champions.

He doesn’t feel much different this week. He’s not sure he’s playing all that much differently, hard to measure given the extreme contrast in courses.

It was his 11th consecutive round in the 60s.

Along with tying Stricker’s record, Thomas set the 54-hole scoring record at the Sony Open by five shots. Next on the horizon is a shot at the 72-hole scoring record that Tommy Armour III set in 2003 with a 254 at the Texas Open.

Thomas would need a 65 to break that mark.

Right now, his only thought is more of what he called the “smart aggressive” play that enabled him to play bogey-free and extend his lead. He is thinking birdie while trying to avoid a miss that could lead to bogey.

And all he wants is another lei around his neck and another trophy from paradise. Ernie Els in 2003 is the only other player to sweep Hawaii.

The course remained so vulnerable that Kevin Kisner nearly produced the second 59 of the week. Kisner made a 25-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole to reach 9 under for his round. Needing an eagle to shoot 59, he drilled his tee shot on the fast fairways of Waialae, hit 8-iron to 9 feet and thought he had made it. The putt stayed to the right and burned the edge of the cup, and Kisner had to settle for a 60.

It was the lowest round of his career – but only the second-lowest round this week.

“Can’t be that upset,” Kisner said.

He went from making the cut on the number to a tie for sixth, though hardly in contention. When someone started to suggest that his 60 got him back into the mix, Kisner laughed and said, “Justin might need to get food poisoning.”

Even that might not be enough.

Only three players have lost a six-shot lead going into the final round, the most famous being Greg Norman at the Masters in 1996.

Thomas had only a few stressful moments, such as the par-3 seventh when his tee shot bounded down a steep still on the right into a fluffy lie. He hit a flop shot to about 12 feet and hit the putt so pure he started walking even before it dropped.

Thomas led by at least four shots the entire round. He made his first birdie with a two-putt on the par-5 ninth, drove into a greenside bunker on the par-4 10th and got another birdie and he was on his way.

MacKenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot a 68 and is tied for 28th at 9 under.

HONOLULU – Justin Thomas put his name in the PGA Tour record book two days in a row.

The idea now is to get his name on the trophy.

And with each record, that becomes a little easier at the Sony Open.

Thomas set the course record Thursday at Waialae Country Club with his 59, only the eighth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history. Even then, the 23-year-old from Kentucky was cognizant that the tournament still had three rounds remaining, and he only had a three-shot lead.

He followed that with another burst of birdies around the turn and another eagle on his final hole, punching a 7-iron out of the light rough to run the ball up between two bunkers and onto the green about 8 feet below the cup. He made the eagle putt for a 64, setting the 36-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour at 123.

And now he has a five-shot lead.

“He’s not stopping, as we can see,” said Jordan Spieth, who watched him for two rounds.

Thomas also is not looking behind.

Following a great round with another one is not easy, and the task becomes even tougher when that great round is a 59.

“I didn’t know how I was going to feel,” Thomas said. “I didn’t feel too much today. I just felt like it was another round of golf and I need to try to build on my lead and see how low I could go today.”

He didn’t realize he had set the 36-hole record until the scoring official told him as Thomas was signing his card. He left Friday evening not even aware of another record he had set – best round after a 59.

Jim Furyk (with his record 58), David Duval and Stuart Appleby each hit golf’s magic number in the final round. Of the four other times someone shot 59, the best anyone managed was Paul Goydos (2010 John Deere Classic) and Chip Beck (1991 Las Vegas Invitational), who each had a 68.

Thomas clipped them by four.

Of more importance, of course, is that he stretched that lead to five shots over Gary Woodland. That matched the largest 36-hole lead in Sony Open history by Paul Azinger in 2000 and Brad Faxon in 2001. Both went on to win.

As for that 36-hole record, odds are in his favor.

Three players had shared the record of 124, and all of them went on to win:

– Pat Perez opened with a 61-63 in the Bob Hope Classic in 2009. That was a 90-hole tournament, and he won by three shots over John Merrick.

– David Toms shot 62-62 at Colonial in 2011, and he held on to win by one shot over Charlie Wi.

– Jason Day shot 61-63 at Conway Farms in the 2015 BMW Championship and won by six shots over Daniel Berger.

This is only his third season on the PGA Tour, though Thomas has been around long enough not to get too far away from his next shot. Sure, he thinks about winning when he knows he’s playing well, like last week on Maui at the SBS Tournament of Champions. He was tied for the lead after 36 holes, went two clear of Hideki Matsuyama going into the final round and won by three.

“You don’t really start thinking about it consistently until probably Sunday if you’re in it,” he said.

At stake is a chance to join Ernie Els as the only player to sweep Hawaii since 1999, when Kapalua became the starting point to a new year.

Thomas now has gone 21 consecutive rounds at par or better, dating to a 75 in the first round of the Safeway Open last October. He has 10 consecutive rounds in the 60s (or better, considering his 59) for an average score of 66.4.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot a 5-under 65 and is 7 under for the tournament to become the lone Canadian to make the cut. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., both shot 71 and finished 1 under.

Spieth, meanwhile, will probably be happy to get away from his best friend in golf. Spieth has been playing well over two days, and to watch them, his game has not been all that different from Thomas except for the length of some of the tee shots – and the putting.

He has had similar putts for birdie from about the same distance, and sometimes the same line. One guy keeps making them, and it’s not Spieth.

“Just has a really cold putter this week,” Spieth said. “I think it added to the frustration on the green, because the game is looking so easy to him. I felt like I was hitting the ball in the same location, I’m just being outdone on the green. That’s something a little abnormal to me.”

That made Thomas chuckle.

“Now he knows how a lot of people feel,” Thomas said.

HONOLULU – Fresh of his victory on Maui, Justin Thomas became the seventh player to join the “59 Club” on the PGA Tour when he made a 15-foot eagle putt on his last hole Thursday at the Sony Open for an 11-under 59.

Thomas thought his hopes at a 59 were over when his drive on the par-5 ninth hole at Waialae Country Club was a foot from clearing a fairway bunker on the left and rolled back into the sand. He figured he couldn’t reach the green until realizing Daniel Berger hit 4-iron from the bunker onto the green.

Thomas figured “this wasn’t a time to lay up.”

He hit 5-iron clean and pure, and it settled 15 feet below the cup. Wasting little time over the putt, he poured it in for 59 and lightly pumped his fist. The excitement came from Berger and Jordan Spieth, and only when Thomas looked at their reaction did it begin to sink in.

“I got more excited from seeing them get excited,” he said.

Jim Furyk was the last player with a sub-60 round when he closed with a record 58 at the Travelers Championship last summer. Furyk also had a 59 in 2013 at the BMW Championship, joining the exclusive group that includes Al Geiberger (1977 Memphis Classic), Chip Beck (1991 Las Vegas Invitational), David Duval (1999 Bob Hope Classic), Paul Goydos (2010 John Deere Classic) and Stuart Appleby (2010 Greenbrier Classic).

This was special because he made it look so easy.

Thomas, a 23-year-old with enormous power for his 145-pound frame, never hit more than a 7-iron into the par 4s at Waialae on a perfect day for scoring – very little breeze, fast fairways and soft greens. That 7-iron was chipped under the trees and into a bunker on No. 8 when he was trying to save par.

His only bogey came on his second hole, the par-3 11th, when his tee shot went into a bunker and he missed an 18-foot par putt.

Duval was the only other player to shoot 59 with an eagle on the last hole. Furyk at Conway Farms is the only other player to shoot 59 with a bogey.

Spieth, best friends with Thomas since they were 13, was more nervous than Thomas and far more demonstrative. Thomas had a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 7 that looked good even when it was inches from the cup until burning the edge. Spieth clutched the back of his neck and was still asking how the putt didn’t fall when he walked onto the next tee. He was talking to himself, of course. He gave Thomas his space.

“It’s like sitting on the bench with a teammate throwing a perfect game,” Spieth said. “It was awesome. What an awesome last five rounds he’s had.”

Just four days ago, Thomas closed birdie-birdie for a 69 to win the SBS Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. He started his round Thursday at Waialae by pitching in from 35 yards for an eagle on the short 10th hole. And he was off.

“All my birdies were easy,” Thomas said.

He was smashing drives when he could, especially on the par-5 18th hole when he found an extra long tee and hammered a high hook that left him only an 8-iron into the green. He narrowly holed that for eagle, settling for a 29. Then, he went birdie-birdie to start the front nine, and when he hit 7-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the par-3 fourth hole, the race was on to hit golf’s magic number.

“He had full control of his golf swing,” Spieth said.

Spieth and Berger were along for the ride. They all graduated high school in 2011 and grew up in junior golf. They were together a few weekends ago at a resort in Maui ahead of the Tournament of Champions.

And they put on quite a show, with Spieth and Berger each shooting 65. On only three holes – No. 15, 5 and 8 – did someone in the group not make birdie or better. Their best-ball score was 17 under.

The best part for Berger and Spieth was standing to the side of the 18th green to watch Thomas get his share of history, and delivering. Berger raised his arms in the air. Spieth gave it a left-handed fist pump.

“The coolest part for me was how excited they were for me on 18,” Thomas said. “To do that with two of your best friends out here and two of your friends that you played with for so long … those are people that I’m going to be playing with and hanging out with for the next 20, 25 years out here. I’ll have that on them for now but that was a lot of fun.”

Goydos was the only other player to shoot 59 in the first round. He was runner-up that year to Steve Stricker.

Maybe that’s what allowed Thomas to keep his emotions in check. He said he thought about the 59 as he walked up to his final green.

“I’m like, ‘If I make it, what am I going to do?’ It’s not like winning a tournament,” Thomas said. “You have three days left to try to play well.”

Even so, he was keenly aware of the feat. Thomas keeps a golf ball from all his victories dating to his days in junior golf. There will be special place for this one. His parents, Mike and Jani, walked the entire round with him. Mike Thomas already had the ball in his pocket.

Jim Furyk was appointed Wednesday as the U.S. captain for the 2018 Ryder Cup in France, where his team will try to win on European soil for the first time in 25 years.

Furyk was a unanimous choice by the Ryder Cup committee last month.

The former U.S. Open champion, and the only player in history to twice post rounds in the 50s, brings more playing experience than any other U.S. captain. Furyk played on nine consecutive teams starting in 1997, and he was an assistant captain to Davis Love III last year at Hazeltine.

Love will be one of his assistants in France.

“He’s going to be a very tough act to follow,” Furyk said from PGA of America headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. “He put a system in place. He put the players behind it. It won’t make my task easier, but it makes it easier knowing there is a system in place. To have him by my side – his advice, his experience, two captaincies and one vice captaincy – is going to be priceless for me.”

The Americans reshaped their thinking after the 2014 loss at Gleneagles, where Phil Mickelson publicly questioned Tom Watson’s leadership and the lack of player involvement. That spawned a Ryder Cup Task Force that allowed for more input from the players, and now a Ryder Cup committee comprising three players (Mickelson, Love and Tiger Woods) and the top three PGA of America officials.

Part of that model was to allow for more consistency at each Ryder Cup, such as captains previously serving as assistants.

The committee met Dec. 6 and decided on Furyk, waiting until the start of the new year to announce him. PGA of America President Paul Levy said it took Furyk “one second” to accept the job.

Furyk is 46 and still going strong on the PGA Tour. He is No. 37 in the world ranking and had a chance to make his 10th straight team last year except that he missed the first four months of the year recovering from wrist surgery.

He set a PGA Tour record in August with a 58 in the final round of the Travelers Championship. Furyk had shot 59 at the BMW Championship three years earlier.

The Ryder Cup has not had a playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 at East Lake, and Furyk wasn’t ready to consider the prospects of playing in France even if he were to qualify for the team.

“I don’t want to say ‘no.’ My main focus and what I’m interested in now is a captain,” he said. “Worrying about point and where my game is is putting the cart before the horse, in my opinion. My main goal is being the best captain I can, getting the best 12 players and providing an atmosphere to let them succeed.”

Thomas Bjorn was appointed European captain last month.

Furyk said he and Bjorn walked one match together at Hazeltine and talked about the future, including the prospect of both being captain. The two never faced each other in the Ryder Cup as players.

Furyk had a 10-20-4 record in his nine Ryder Cup appearance, with more losses than any other American since the Ryder Cup began in 1927. He delivered a key singles victory over Sergio Garcia in 1999 when the Americans rallied from a 10-6 deficit at Brookline. He also holds the distinction of having been involved in the decisive match at the Ryder Cup on both ends, losing to Paul McGinley at The Belfry in 2002 and beating Miguel Angel Jimenez at Valhalla in 2008.

“You can learn from your mistakes, and if you look at my record, I’ve learned a lot,” Furyk said with a smile.

While he has known about his selection for a month, Furyk still choked up when he was introduced, especially when talking about his wife and his father, Mike, a PGA professional and the only coach he ever had.

“It’s no secret it’s been my favorite event for my entire career,” Furyk said.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – Justin Thomas had to sweat it out more than he wanted to enjoy that view down the 18th hole at Kapalua on Sunday.

Thomas had a five-shot lead with five holes to play when he was caught in a battle with Hideki Matsuyama down the stretch in the SBS Tournament of Champions. Thomas responded with a defining shot in his young career, an 8-iron approach he ripped from 214 yards to 3 feet on the 17th.

Matsuyama, one shot behind and needing birdie to stay in the game, ran his 30-foot putt about 8 feet by the hole and three-putted for bogey. Thomas knocked in his short putt for a three-shot lead, and he went on to another birdie for a 4-under 69 and a three-shot victory.

Thomas won for the second time this season, and third time in his career. His other two PGA Tour titles were at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Matsuyama holed a tough flop shot on the 14th for eagle, and then Thomas hooked a 4-iron into the hazard on the par-5 15th and made double bogey. Matsuyama had a chance to tie him until narrowly missing a 10-foot birdie on the 16th. The 24-year-old from Japan closed with a 70.

Thomas is the only player to beat Matsuyama over the last three months. In his last six tournaments worldwide, Matsuyama had four victories and a pair of runner-up finishes _ both to Thomas, in Kuala Lumpur and Kapalua.

Thomas, who finished at 22-under 270, is the first multiple winner on the PGA Tour in a season that began last October. He moves to No. 12 in the world, a big victory that squarely moves him into the conversation of a growing list of young stars in golf.

All he could think about was next year.

“It changes things going forward because I know I’m coming back here,” Thomas said about the winners-only event along the rugged coast of Maui.

The scenery down the 18th toward the blue Pacific was never more spectacular for Thomas, along with the site of his parents off the 18th green who saw him win for the first time. His father, Mike Thomas, is a longtime head pro in Harmony Landing in Kentucky who is still his coach.

Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes finished the tournament in 25th spot at 6 under. The Dundas, Ont., native shot a 5-under 68 in the final round.

Jordan Spieth closed with a 65 to tie for third with Pat Perez (67) and Ryan Moore (71). Spieth and Jimmy Walker, came down to the 18th to congratulate the winner.

Thomas started the final round with a two-shot lead and no one got closer until his blunder on the 15th. One of the longest hitters in golf with his slight build, Thomas really did miss a shot until the ninth hole, and that’s when he got a huge break.

With the wind stiff and in his face, he got quick with his driver and hit a snap-hook into the knee-high weeds left of the fairway. He hit a provisional for a lost ball and was about ready to abandon the search when a TV spotter was summoned to give an indication where it went. They found the ball, and it was sitting up a few inches above the roots, allowing Thomas to at least hack out into the fairway.

He followed with a 3-wood onto the green for a two-putt par after starting with a shot that made double bogey appear likely.

Thomas made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 13th for a five-shot lead and appeared to have the tournament in hand. But then Matsuyama answered with his flop shot for eagle. Thomas, haunted by poor shots on the 15th hole the previous two rounds, picked the wrong time to try to atone for it.

He had left an 8-iron well out to the right, below the elevated green. This time, with a strong wind out of the left, he overcompensated with a 4-iron and went into the hazard. After a penalty drop, he failed to reach the green, chipped up to 8 feet and missed to walk off with double bogey.

“I stumbled more than I would have liked to do,” Thomas said. “But it shows where my game is at right now. I had some woes there, but I stuck it out to still get it done.”

One big shot on the 17th changed everything.

Spieth, his best friend in golf since they were teenager, expected this to be just the start for Thomas.

“I think it’s potentially floodgates opening,” Spieth said. “The guy hits it forever. He’s got a really, really nifty short game. He manages the course well. He’s playing the golf course the way it should be played, and honestly, he’s taking advantage of the easier holes.

“It’s awesome to see,” Spieth said. “He’s going to be tough to beat next week, too.”

Both head over to Oahu for the Sony Open.

KAPALUA, Hawaii – With one powerful swing, Justin Thomas drove the 14th green and made eagle to take control Saturday in the SBS Tournament of Champions.

Thomas holed the 20-foot eagle putt and closed with a two-putt birdie from just short of the green on the par-5 18th for a third straight round of 6-under 67, giving him a two-shot lead over Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.

Matsuyama, who had eight birdies in his round of 66, has won four of his last five tournaments worldwide dating to Oct. 16 at the Japan Open. The only player to beat him during that amazing stretch was Thomas at the CIMB Classic at Malaysia.

This time, they will be in the final group at Kapalua.

Thomas was at 18-under 201, and while he was pleased with his score and the lead, he had a chance to build even more separation. Following his eagle on the 14th, he smashed another drive that caught the slope on the par-5 15th and rolled to the bottom of the hill, a 348-yard drive that left him only 180 yards to the elevated green. But his shot was a clunker coming out of the short rough, and while he hit a tough pitch to 6 feet, he read a fraction too much break in the putt and had to settle for par.

On the short 16th, he pounded another drive within 60 yards of the pin, but his wedge came up well short and he missed from 15 feet.

“I’m definitely not disappointed with today, but I left a lot out there,” Thomas said.

He did enough to shorten the number of challengers in the winners-only field that starts the new year at Kapalua. Only five players were within five shots of the lead going into the final round.

Matsuyama made three birdies over his last five holes to get into the final group as he goes for his fourth straight victory

“Just doesn’t have any weaknesses at all in his game,” Matsuyama said. “He hits it long, has a marvelous short game, putts well, hits the ball well. We’ve got to go low tomorrow to be able to catch him.”

Memorial winner William McGirt, one of 11 players playing the Plantation course at Kapalua for the first time, played bogey-free for a 66 and was four shots behind, along with Ryan Moore (71) and Jimmy Walker (70).

Moore was tied for the lead until Thomas drove the 14th green for his eagle and Moore missed a 15-foot birdie putt. On the next hole, Moore’s tee shot plugged into the steep face of a bunker and he had no choice but to pitch out sideways, leading to another bogey.

Brendan Steele had a 67 and was at 13-under 206.

Dustin Johnson had a 69 and was in the group seven shots back. Jason Day, playing for the first time since the Tour Championship, was eight back.

Playing alongside Jordan Spieth, Mackenzie Hughes posted an even-par 73 to sit at 1-under par overall in a three-way tie for 29th.

Spieth had another double bogey, this time on his second hole, and shot 70. He was 10 shots back.