After two excellent days, Justin Thomas was in contention for the title going into the weekend at TPC Sawgrass. However, he didn’t start the third round of the PLAYERS Championship 2026 as well as he had hoped he would. But he really lost control at the sixth hole when a wayward drive started a series of misfortunes.

Thomas’ drive off the tee box on 6th flew way over 100 yards to the left of the fairway. The moment he hit the shot, he knew he had botched it. The two-time major champion scooped down to see where his ball went. It went into the penalty area. That led to a penalty stroke and a dropped ball just 135 yards away from the hole. But it was still in the deep rough and made it quite difficult for Thomas to hit out of it.

He still managed to clear 86 yards with his wedge. Unfortunately, the ball still landed 85 feet away from the hole. By now, Thomas had already played the regulation four strokes expected to make par. He needed his wedge again to scoop out a 41-foot stroke onto the green.

Finally, on the short grass, Thomas was still 39 feet away from the cup. He tried to finish it in one putt, but the ball rolled just about 4 feet away from it. Finally, dropping the ball in the cup, he \completed the par-4 sixth hole. And he needed seven strokes to finish it. Watch the disaster below.

None of it might have happened two years ago. But in 2025, the PGA Tour decided to relocate the diabolical tree with multiple overhanging branches in front of the tee box. It was part of Pete Dye’s original design and a cause of headaches for every pro. The tree was removed in 2014; however, Davis Love III spearheaded a project that saw a replanting of the 500,000-pound tree. It had an immediate effect.

At the 2023 and 2024 PLAYERS Championships, the sixth played as the seventh and sixth easiest holes, respectively. In sharp contrast to that, in 2025, it was the fifth toughest hole. Yesterday, it was the 11th toughest hole, playing at 0.041 over par. Thomas’s triple bogey was one of three doubles or worse at the par-4 6th.

He tried to skirt off the limb that hangs like a monster’s hand, ready to grab and devour your dreams. JT avoided that, but still couldn’t save his dream. The horrid run on the sixth hole pushed Justin Thomas way down the leaderboard from T4 to T14 after completing 15 holes. If it weren’t for two birdies in the next few holes, then he would have been further down the leaderboard.

He ended up at T4 after 3rd round, sitting five shots behind leader Ludvig Aberg. Only three players in the history of the tournament have erased a five-shot deficit and gone on to win. Without the triple bogey, Thomas would still have a shot at claiming his second victory at TPC Sawgrass. However, now it almost seems out of his reach.

Either way, Thomas would still be happier with his performance at TPC Sawgrass this week. Especially after the nightmare he had at Bay Hill a few days ago.

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Justin Thomas might be happy despite the poor show on Saturday

Neither Justin Thomas nor his fans expected him to score a triple bogey at the sixth hole on Saturday. But you never know when things can turn around on the golf course due to unexpected circumstances. But despite the horrid performance on the hole, Thomas would still be optimistic this week.

This time last week, he had already packed his bags and was heading home. That’s because he had a nightmare at Bay Hill that saw him exit the event early. Thomas had shot 7-over 79 in two consecutive rounds after returning from a six-month hiatus on the PGA Tour.

Upset with his performance, he told the reporters, “When you kind of post two pretty humiliating scores, it’s hard to give yourself too much grace.”

He didn’t give any excuses for his poor show. He just returned to action and responded to the criticism with improved performance. Compared to that, the setback on the sixth hole at TPC Sawgrass shouldn’t hurt him as much this weekend.