Erin, Wis. – Saturday at Erin Hills, a kid so skinny Wisconsinites were tempted to pelt him with cheese wheels walked off the course wearing bright pink pants, like he had lost a bet, and said he was shaking with hunger.
No need to feel sorry for the urchin. He had just shot a 63 in the U.S. Open.
Justin Thomas' arms are the thickness of penne noodles, but he has the hip movement of an Olympic powerlifter. He overpowered Erin Hills on Saturday, breaking a U.S. Open record by recording a round of 9 under, and becoming the fifth player in tournament history to shoot a 63.
"You better go low if you're going to wear these," Thomas said.
He was talking about the hot-pink pants that successfully kept him from being mistaken for a deer by any Wisconsinites hunting out of season. Listed at 5-10 and 145 pounds, which may be correct when he is well-hydrated, Thomas put 10 threes on his scorecard Saturday, qualifying him to play for the Golden State Warriors.
Erin Hills has played so easily this week that Thomas' record merely moved him into a three-way tie for second at 11 under, one shot behind Brian Harman. Sunday, he and each of the top 18 players on the leaderboard will try to his first major.
"Yeah, 63 was never on my mind," Thomas said. "Tomorrow's going to be fun."
Thomas has won two PGA Tour events this year but has never finished better than 18th in a major. But with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson absent and Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day missing the cut, this week has at times felt more like a Safeway Open than a U.S. Open.