Sunday's PGA final will be historic for 1 player more than anyone else

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — They're all playing for the same prize out here, but different players have different pressures this week. Justin Thomas' unique pressure began in November 2017, when the PGA Championship (he was the reigning champion) announced that it would return to Valhalla Golf Club, 20 miles from where he grew up.

We don't know how many times Thomas thought about this particular tournament or envisioned himself winning it, but you can imagine that he is more than anyone else in the field, probably by a lot. What he feels tomorrow — when he starts five back from the leaders in an all-out race to 20 under — will be different than the rest of the field, too.

Thomas lives in Florida but there's a reason he's heralded as a Louisvillian every time he plays on the PGA Tour. Louisville wants him. Last week, he was officially recognized as a “Hometown Hero” by the mayor, who unveiled a large banner with Thomas's image on one of the local buildings. Thomas had stared at those banners in his youth, on his way to and from school. Now that it was made for him, he shed tears as he gave his acceptance speech. The man has received many awards, and given many speeches. This one hit him harder than the others.

“Obviously Louisville means a lot to me, but I think it means more to me than I thought,” he said this week. The response to his return was predictably strong.

Louisville sits between Indiana and Kentucky, between the American Midwest and the American South, making it a center of sports culture, far from the elite athletes and franchises on the country's coast. As for golf, this is an often forgotten part of the country, which is why 200,000 spectators (or more) are expected to show up this week.

Thomas heard so many texts, calls and requests that he changed his phone number last week. He has no regrets. He also previewed Keegan Bradley, who hails from the northeast, what it was like to play in front of angry crowds at the 2022 US Open outside Boston.

“He said he was just looking around, he looked everywhere, he took it, he accepted support,” said Thomas. “What I feel is the opposite of what you hear from other people, like you need to block it out. But I think I said it maybe yesterday – I feel like I've never had so many people supporting me, so I'm going to enjoy it for all it's worth, because it was fun. “

Surprise! Being a hometown favorite leads to incredible support. But there is a flip side to all that emotion and attention. It builds pressure, too. The kind that no one else works with in the field. And that's what all these big competitions are, to some degree: pressure cookers. Each day is enhanced from the last. Especially if you make it at home.

Ask Rory McIlroy, the Ulsterman broke down in tears after missing out on the chance to win the 2019 Open in his home country of Northern Ireland. Just ask Tommy Fleetwood, who held the first-round lead in last summer's Open, 20 miles from where he grew up in northwest England, and fell to a T10 finish. Ask Bob MacIntyre, the one man in the field who talked more about home than Thomas this week.

Bobby Mac, a boy from Oban, Scotland, has been living in Orlando this year, and he is very homesick. She flew her mother to Louisville to help her with cooking and cleaning. He just took a 3 week trip home and didn't touch his golf clubs. MacIntyre has expressed domestic feelings at almost every press conference this week. Maybe because the home was so good for his golf. Power at home is a feeling these Tour stars who plan to fly rarely get.

Last summer MacIntyre had one of the biggest weeks of his career at the Scottish Open, shooting a final round 64 in dry and windy Scottish conditions. He entered the top of the clubhouse and only Rory McIlroy was left to hit.

Then … “the unthinkable happened,” MacIntyre said Saturday. “One of the best golfers in the world did what he did.”

McIlroy bogeyed the last two holes of the day and stole away from him, bringing MacIntyre to the only natural outlet: tears. A good-then-negative memory stayed in his brain.

“There aren't many places that Rory McIlroy goes to and they don't want him to win,” he said. “And the Scottish Open was probably one of them. It's just nice to have so many people on your side who want you to do well. But sometimes it can be difficult when things don't go your way because you almost feel like you're letting them down.”

It all sounds good, as long as the golf is good. And Thomas' golf has been excellent this week. Scores of 69-67-67 would be fine in any other major tournament on any other course, in any other type of condition. But it is only good for T10 this time. Thomas' first round of competition in his home country years ago would have felt a lot better if he “hadn't played the easiest 9 you've ever seen.”

That was Xander Schauffele, who Thomas has been chasing for three days. After Day 1, he had been back for seven years. After Day 2, six back. After three days, he is now back for five. Unfortunately for Thomas, there is only one left.

“I'm very excited about the future,” he said. “It should be a lot of fun. But I'm sad that the week is coming to an end.”

Unless something special happens.