Justin Thomas flexes hard on former pro after bananas (!) 62 at The Players: "He can shut up now"

Justin Thomas joked former PGA Tour pro Colt Knost can 'shut up now' after he matched the course record at the 2025 Players Championship 24 hours after it seemed as though he would be making an early exit from the unofficial fifth men's major. 

According to DataGolf, Thomas only had a 2.6 per cent chance of making the cut after hitting a 6-over 78 in round one of the flagship PGA Tour event. 

He rebounded in remarkable fashion on Friday afternoon, making an astonishing 11 birdies to card a 10-under 62 and match Tom Hoge's course record that was set in 2023. 

Thomas could have - and probably should have - gone lower but he found the water with his second stroke on the 18th hole after fanning his tee shot right. 

Still, after taking a drop, Thomas stuffed his approach from 54 yards to 22 inches and tapped in for an easy bogey and improve his first round score by 16 strokes. 

"Crazy is an understatement," Thomas told Sky Sports after the round when it was put to him that golf is a crazy game. "Dumb comes to mind. It's wild. I'm just really, really proud of myself."

Thomas said he was most proud of his attitude and mentality after the worst round of golf, statistically, that he has ever played. 

"The position I put myself in I needed to do something crazy," he added. "I'm just excited just to have a tee time."

Thomas said he wasn't overly worried with what happened yesterday. Most of all, he was just ticked at his poor mental approach.

He added: "That was one of the best rounds I've played, for sure.

"I felt like I did an unbelievable job of just staying [present], keeping my eyes forward, keeping my blinders on, not looking backwards, forwards, anything like that. 

"[I was thinking] how can I put this ball in the fairway off the tee, and then how can I make birdie, and let's rinse and repeat. I putted the ball beautifully, too. Just one of those days."

Thomas is also the first player to hit 11 birdies in a round at TPC Sawgrass.

Previously, he shared the record of 10 with former PGA Tour pro turned analyst and commentator Knost.

"He's reminded me so many times that we share that record," Thomas said. "Not anymore, so he can shut up now."

Notable players who missed the cut here included Justin Rose, former LIV recruit Laurie Canter, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland. 

Former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark withdrew midway through his second round. 

It was later confirmed Clark was suffering from a neck injury.