Justin Thomas out to defend at RBC Heritage, back surgery behind him

He also chomped on the champion’s burger, featuring short rib, brisket and chuck topped with bacon, pepper jack, avocado, a fried egg and southwestern aioli that is on the menu at Fraser’s Tavern, a local institution located in the nearby Plantation Golf Club at Sea Pines Resort.

Thomas, ranked 15th in the Official World Golf Ranking, is still attempting to get his sea legs back after missing more than four months after undergoing a microdiscectomy, a procedure to remove a bulging or damaged disc in the lower spine. Thomas shot a pair of 79s in his first start back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March and missed the cut and said it was a humbling experience.

“I just felt like I was humiliating myself out there,” he said after shooting 14 over. “I’m trying as hard as I can to give myself a little bit of grace with how long I haven’t played and how difficult this place can be, but at the same time, I expect more out of myself.”

A week later, he contended at the Players Championship, eventually finished T-8. It’s his best result in four starts this season, and he enters his title defense coming off a T-40 at the Masters.

McIlroy, who repeated as Masters champion on Sunday, opted to skip this week as did Justin Rose, who finished T-3 at Augusta National, and Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama, but it is otherwise a star-studded field for the fourth of eight signature events, where the purse is $20 million and there is no cut in the limited-field event. In fact, 66 of the 82 players in the field have won on the PGA Tour, led by Scottie Scheffler with 20.

Through 14 events of the 2026 Tour season, there have only been two first-time Tour winners — Jacob Bridgeman, who took the title at the Genesis Invitational, and Ricky Castillo, who hoisted the trophy at the Puerto Rico Open. C.T. Pan (2019) was the last player to win the RBC Heritage for his first career PGA Tour victory. But Thomas, who competed in the Junior Heritage as a teen and called the Pete Dye design a course that “fits my game,” will always treasure being a champion at Harbour Town.

“I feel like winning on a golf course like this is a pretty cool thing to add to your resume,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Justin Thomas won 2025 RBC Heritage with mantra of trust and commitment