Golf: Sizzling Thomas joins elite 59 club at Waialae
(Reuters) - Red-hot Justin Thomas became only the seventh player to break 60 on the PGA Tour, and the youngest in that elite club, with a superb 11-under-par display in the opening round of the Sony Open in Hawaii on Thursday. Just four days after clinching his third PGA Tour title at the SBS Tournament of Champions on the Hawaiian island of Maui, the 23-year-old American rolled in a 15-foot eagle putt on his final hole, the par-five ninth, to card a 59. Thomas, who set the tone for his memorable day at Waialae Country Club Honolulu by eagling his opening hole with a chip-in from 34 yards, also carded eight birdies and a lone bogey to become the youngest member of the 59 club. Jim Furyk broke golf's magic number when he shot a record 12-under 58 at the Travelers Championship last year. Al Geiberger in 1977 was the first player to post 59 on the PGA Tour, followed by Chip Beck (1991), David Duval (1999), Paul Goydos (2010), Stuart Appleby (2010) and Furyk (2013). (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in St. Augustine, Florida; Editing by Frank Pingue)
