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Thomas moves to world No. 1 with WGC-FedEx St. Jude victory

Stacy Revere / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Justin Thomas fired a final-round 65 to erase a four-shot deficit and win the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational by three strokes Sunday.

Thomas, who will move to world No. 1 for the first time since 2018 thanks to the victory, started the day well back of 54-hole leader Brendon Todd and had three other competitors to leapfrog. But he swiftly moved into the top spot with four birdies on the front nine.

Thomas also benefited from two fortunate bounces after errant tee shots while jockeying for position with Brooks Koepka on the back nine. First, he hit the cart path on No. 15 to avoid the water, setting up an easy pitch and putt for birdie. His drive on the par-5 16th then sailed way right, but he found an opening to escape and card another red number.

"I totally had control and then it got away from me a little bit," Thomas said. "But kind of stayed patient and got extremely lucky there on 15 and again on 16, but took advantage of it and that's the kind of stuff that happens when you win."

Playing in the group behind Thomas, Koepka bogeyed the easy par-5 16th to drop two shots back. He made things interesting by sinking a 39-foot bomb for birdie on 17, but an aggressive tee shot on the final hole found the water and sealed Koepka's fate.

Thomas scrambled for par on No. 18 to claim his 13th PGA Tour title and third of the 2019-20 season. At 27 years old, he becomes the third-youngest player to collect 13 victories behind Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

Here's how the top of the leaderboard finished:

Place Player To Par R4 Score
1 Justin Thomas -13 65
T2 Daniel Berger -10 65
T2 Tom Lewis -10 66
T2 Phil Mickelson -10 67
T2 Brooks Koepka -10 69

Phil Mickelson shot a 67 on Sunday for his best result since winning the 2019 Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His finish is the best in WGC history by any player aged 50 or older.

Todd, meanwhile, carded a 5-over 75 to settle into a tie for 15th. Rickie Fowler, who started the day two off the lead, signed for a 73 to finish six strokes behind Thomas.

The season's first major is on deck next week as the PGA Tour heads to TPC Harding Park in San Fransisco for the PGA Championship.

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