When Justin Thomas tees off at 10:10 a.m. CDT Sunday in the final round of the RBC Heritage, the former Alabama All-American will be six strokes behind the four players tied for the lead in the PGA Tour event.
But after he finished his third round on Saturday with a 5-under par 66 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina, Thomas seemed to have something on his mind besides pursuing his third victory of the season – the coronavirus.
“No offense to Hilton Head, but they’re seeming to not take it very seriously,” Thomas said. “It’s an absolute zoo around here. There’s people everywhere. The beaches are absolutely packed. Every restaurant, from what I’ve seen when I’ve been driving by, is absolutely crowded.”
The PGA Tour resumed play last weekend for the first time since March 13, but without fans on the course.
On Friday, Nick Watney became the first PGA Tour player diagnosed with COVID-19 during competition. Watney withdrew from the tournament after playing in the RBC Heritage’s first round on Thursday.
“Unfortunately, that’s not on Nick,” Thomas said, “because I know he’s very cautious and has done everything he can, but I would say a lot of people in this area of Hilton Head just aren’t.”
Thomas’ comments came on the same day that South Carolina reached a state daily high for confirmed cases of coronavirus infections with 1,157.
Thomas said he thought PGA Tour and tournament officials had done what they could to protect players from contracting the illness.
“Unfortunately, you can’t control guys going to get something to eat or whatever it might be, if you’re staying in a hotel or room service or whatever it might be,” Thomas said. “What I’ve done is I stay in a house with a chef each week with a couple of guys and keep it in that small circle, so I feel very, very safe in that regard.
“Outside, you can’t control what other people have done, and I think that’s what happened to Nick. He was very unlucky.”
At Alabama, Thomas was the National Player of the Year in 2012 and a member of the Crimson Tide’s national-championship team in 2013. He holds the third spot in the current World Golf Ranking.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.
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