MEDINAH, Ill. – Thanks to a dominating weekend performance at Medinah Country Club, Justin Thomas will head to the Tour Championship as the man to beat.

Thomas started the final round of the BMW Championship with a six-shot lead after shattering the course record with a third-round 61, and while things got a little more interesting than he would have preferred he still managed to win the season’s penultimate event by three shots over Patrick Cantlay. It means that Thomas, not Player of the Year frontrunner Brooks Koepka, will tee off at East Lake with a two-shot lead at 10 under using the Tour’s new staggered scoring format.

Thomas bogeyed the opening hole Sunday, and he nearly found disaster on the par-5 10th when a double-crossed 3-wood was kept in bounds only after bouncing off a boundary fence. But the former world No. 1 steadied his nerve from there, curling in four birdies over his final eight holes to keep at bay the charges of Cantlay and third-place Hideki Matsuyama, who closed with a 63.

The win was the 10th of Thomas’ career, and his first since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational more than a year ago.

“It’s been awhile,” Thomas said. “It’s always easy when things are going well. When your back is up against the wall, or when you get pressured or put a little heat on you, I think how you respond is sometimes a little bit better or shows a little bit more.”

Thomas won the FedExCup two years ago to cap a remarkable season that included five wins and his maiden major. Now he’ll begin the 30-man event with a quantified advantage, two shots clear of Cantlay, three clear of third-place Koepka and 10 shots ahead of Nos. 26-30 in the standings.

“Definitely beats the position I was in at the beginning of this week,” Thomas said. “I can certainly say, a thousand percent, I’ve never slept on a Wednesday lead. But I’m definitely excited for that, and I’m just going to try to win the golf tournament as if everybody starts at zero.”

Thomas suffered a wrist injury earlier this year, one that led him to withdraw from both the Wells Fargo Championship, where he won his PGA title, and the PGA Championship at Bethpage. Thomas expressed at the time that those decisions were made out of an abundance of caution, and that strategy appears to have paid off based on the torrid stretch with which he has closed the season.

Thomas has channeled his 2017 form in recent weeks, finishing T-12 or better in each of his last four starts. And that was before he bent Medinah to his will, shooting 15 under par over his final 36 holes on a course with a major pedigree.

“I just kept telling myself I was beating everything by six through three rounds with a very mediocre Friday,” Thomas said. “I felt I was playing better than everybody else, and I felt that I was and I felt that I was good enough that I was going to be just fine. You’re going to have bogeys.”

Now Thomas will make the trek south to Atlanta, where two years ago he won the season-long prize but not the Tour Championship title. With the two trophies now unified under the Tour’s new scoring format, he’s eager to head into uncharted waters equipped with an enviable position at the top.

“I truly have no idea. There’s nobody in the history of this sport that has experienced it, so nobody knows,” Thomas said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be weird. It’s going to be different, I know.”

PINEHURST, N.C. – Andy Ogletree was in danger of being blown out of the U.S. Amateur final. He kept his poise - and his confidence - and came back to win.

Ogletree won the U.S. Amateur on Sunday, rallying to beat John Augenstein, 2 and 1.

"Everyone on (his Georgia Tech) team says Andy's blood pressure's got to be negative," Ogletree quipped.

Ogletree was 4 down early in the morning round of the 36-hole final at Pinehurst's renovated No. 4, but won four of the final seven holes on the No. 2 course to claim the championship matchup of 21-year-old college seniors.

"I showed a lot of resilience out there and never gave up," Ogletree said. "Kept telling myself I'm going to win this tournament and always believed that. Even when I was 4 down through six (holes), I just kept telling myself ... keep hitting fairways, keep hitting greens and it'll eventually go your way."

The Mississippian became the third Georgia Tech player to win the Amateur, joining 1997 winner Matt Kuchar and five-time champion Bobby Jones.

He ended it on the 17th, sticking his tee shot on the par-3 hole on the green and two-putting for par. Augenstein placed his tee shot on the left fringe and four-putted for a double bogey.

"I fought my hardest, but in the end, I didn't make enough putts or hit enough great shots to beat him," Augenstein said. "He was really super solid and made no mistakes."

Augenstein, from Kentucky, was the first Vanderbilt player to reach the final since Luke List in 2004. At No. 38 in the world amateur ranking, he was the highest-ranked player to reach the semifinals and the only one in the top 100.

Ogletree kept himself within striking distance and was never worse than 2 down during the afternoon round. He squared the match on the 13th hole after landing his second shot within 5 feet of the flagstick and tapping in for a birdie, then took the lead on the 14th after Augenstein pushed a short par putt wide left.

"I just kept putting the pressure on John," Ogletree said, "and it worked out for me."

This was the first time the U.S. Amateur's final was split over two courses, finishing at No. 2, which has become a regular USGA championship host. Overlooking the 18th green is a statue of the late Payne Stewart marking his victory in the 1999 U.S. Open with a fist-pump.

During match play, neither of these players saw it very often.

Only one of Ogletree's matches reached the 18th while three ended on the 15th hole or earlier. For Augenstein, four of his first five matches were wrapped up by the 16th, and - until the final four holes of the final - the only time he trailed came on the third hole of his semifinal match with William Holcomb V. Holcomb's 1-up lead was gone a hole later.

Early on, it looked as though this was Augenstein's match to lose. He went ahead 4 up during his hot start that included winning four straight holes and reeling off three birdies in a row on Nos. 3-5. Ogletree clawed back, finished the morning round at 2 down to begin his comeback.

"I got off to the start that you always want to get off to on one of these days," Augenstein said. "It's 36 holes. If I was in his position, I'd be thinking the same thing - there was a lot of golf left. I wasn't at all complacent about thinking I've got this thing won through six holes."

PINEHURST, N.C. – John Augenstein accomplished one of his goals Sunday. 

He was named to the U.S. Walker Cup team.

That was his stated goal before the start of the week, and even though he lost, 2 and 1, to Andy Ogletree in the scheduled 36-hole final of the U.S. Amateur, Augenstein had done enough to impress the USGA committee and earn a spot on the 10-man roster that will compete against Great Britain and Ireland on Sept. 7-8 at Royal Liverpool.

“It hasn’t really sunk in yet, because I was told about 30 seconds after I lost the match,” Augenstein said. “That’s going to be a dream come true. It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait.”

Ogletree was automatically added to the team after his breakout victory at Pinehurst. He admitted that making the squad wasn’t even a consideration at the start of the week. 

The rest of the team was finalized after the championship match.

The USGA announced that Brandon Wu, Isaiah Salinda, Steven Fisk, John Pak and Alex Smalley will round out the squad, which hasn’t won on foreign soil since 2007. Cole Hammer, Akshay Bhatia and Stewart Hagestad had already been named to the team by virtue of their standing in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Along those left off were former Texas A&M standout Chandler Phillips and incoming Florida freshman Ricky Castillo. They were named first and second alternates, respectively, even though Phillips didn’t take the news well. On Sunday night he tweeted, “Ever(sic) 2 years someone gets boned and I just got the call letting me know I have been chosing(sic) for this award! Lol thanks!” 

PINEHURST, N.C. – U.S. Amateur champions don’t come from Little Rock, Mississippi, the no-stoplight, unincorporated community of less than 2,000 residents. It’s where the post office sits in a trailer. Where boys go backroading for fun. Where the most happening place on a Friday night is Chesney’s Grocery & Cafe, the gas station that offers a seafood buffet with fried catfish and boiled shrimp (4 1/2 stars!).

And then along came Andy Ogletree.

Growing up in this small town he practically lived on the golf course, but to earn a little cash he’d bag groceries at his father’s Piggly Wiggly for $7.35 an hour. “I always told him: ‘If this doesn’t work out, you’re going to be bagging groceries the rest of your life,’” Jim Ogletree said. “He dug a little when I said that.”

This weekend the elder Ogletree received a call from one of his friends back home. All of the customers waiting in line were glued to their phones, watching Andy bomb drives and hole clutch putts and eventually make history. 

“I don’t think he wants to do the grocery business,” Jim said with a chuckle, “and he sure ain’t going to have to now.”

No, Ogletree’s future seems as secure as ever.

During a taut championship match at Pinehurst, Ogletree overcame a big early deficit, took his first lead on the 32nd hole and hung on to capture the U.S. Amateur with a stunning 2-and-1 victory over John Augenstein.

It’ll all come the 21-year-old’s way now: The Walker Cup. The major exemptions. The early-round tee times with Tiger Woods at Augusta National. But so will the myriad distractions, the toll that’s paid when the small-town hero makes it big.

Ogletree might have lived in the middle of nowhere, but he had no shortage of golf options growing up. He learned the game at age 5 and took free lessons from Jimmy Gamblin, the former head pro at Northwood Country Club in Meridian. Within a year Ogletree was competing in national tournaments, even though much of his time was spent honing his game in the backyard. Jim and the boys built a practice facility by themselves, digging out a bunker and installing a parking lot light over the putting green. “I’ll always call that place home,” Andy said.

His rural upbringing didn’t stunt his development. Ogletree still won the Class AA state high school title five times, including one year by 16 shots. While playing in an AJGA tournament, he caught the attention of Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler. Onto the tee wandered this skinny redhead with horn-rimmed glasses, and then he striped a drive down the fairway. Heppler was smitten. “He looks like he’s smart and a nerd,” Heppler recalled, “and I’m going, There’s my guy. I’ve been all-in ever since.”

Not everyone in Little Rock was onboard, however – and apparently neither were some of Ogletree’s family members. After committing to Tech, Ogletree’s younger brother wrapped an arm about Heppler and whispered, half-jokingly, “You just made the biggest mistake of your life. Andy ain’t smart enough to go to school here.”

Ogletree also harbored some doubts about his ability, constantly comparing himself to some of the state’s more prominent players, especially in this golden age of Mississippi golf with the emergence of NCAA champion Braden Thornberry and former Alabama star Davis Riley.

“I think it hurt him at the start because he couldn’t see himself being great,” Heppler said. “I just kept telling him that we’re gonna be better than all of those guys. He didn’t see himself, and hopefully now he does. You just have to believe or you don’t have a chance.”

When Ogletree arrived on campus, he weighed 145 pounds and despised the weight room. Now, he’s 33 pounds heavier, with a muscular torso and thick lower body. One of his teammates recently showed him a picture from his freshman year. “I look like a different human,” he said.

His game bears little resemblance, too. Though Ogletree has always been a ball-basher, he took his game to another level during his junior season. During the fall break Heppler summoned Ogletree to a meeting and told him that, to make it on the PGA Tour, he needed to improve his short game. Drastically. So Ogletree put in the work, spending time with Jeff Patton and even receiving a helpful tip from teammate Noah Norton that straightened out his hook putting stroke. Averaging five three-putts a tournament, Ogletree went three events in a row without a three-jack, shedding a stroke and a half off his scoring average and posting six consecutive top-15 finishes. By season’s end, he was ranked inside the top 20 in the country.

This summer he won the Monroe Invitational to further bolster his confidence, but he never strayed far from his roots. Instead of playing in the Western Amateur and appeasing the USGA’s Walker Cup committee, Ogletree instead unwound at the Neshoba County Fair, where he crammed into a cabin with 40 to 50 family members.

The extra R&R proved helpful for what turned out to be the longest week of his career. Ogletree played a pair of practice rounds, two days of stroke play and then blew through five matches in four days. In the 36-hole championship match he faced off against Augenstein, the Vanderbilt senior who has become a match-play savant, boasting a 17-3-1 record in singles since spring 2017.

Early Sunday morning, on Pinehurst No. 4, it looked as though Ogletree might become Augenstein’s next victim. Ogletree fell 4 down through five holes, but he never lost hope. He assumed, correctly, that Augenstein’s hot start was unsustainable (even though he’d go on to shoot a course-record 65) and that his game was plenty sharp, too. Ogletree made four birdies of his own, none bigger than his 25-footer from the fringe on 18 that cut the deficit to just 2 up heading into the two-hour break.

“The whole lunch I was ready to go and ready to get back out there,” Ogletree said.

Ogletree was still 2 down heading to the back nine, but he won the 11^th hole with a par and then tied the match on 14 after stuffing a wedge shot when he laid back on the driveable par 4.

“That definitely turned the match,” he said.

Ogletree took the lead for the first time on the 32^nd hole, then persevered it with a par save on 16 that underscored just how far he’s come. In the greenside bunker on 16, Ogletree delicately splashed out to 10 feet.

“I’m not sure he gets the ball on the green by himself eight months ago,” said Heppler, but Ogletree pulled it off, with thousands of people watching and the U.S. Amateur on the line.

The gutsy par save kept him in front, then he closed out the match after Augenstein made a mess of the par-3 17^th.

Ogletree was unflappable for eight hours, but he finally let loose when he was mobbed on the green by his caddie/assistant coach, Devin Stanton, and family and friends.

Asked how his victory would be received in Little Rock, Ogletree smiled. “There’s no telling,” he said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of adult beverages going down right now.”

The next year figures to be a whirlwind. Ogletree doesn’t own a passport, but he’ll head late next week to England for the Walker Cup. He’ll soon become a hot commodity for player agents and tournament directors. The Masters looms next spring. The summer Opens, too. Suddenly, his pro outlook looks brighter than any of the other recent Mississippi products.

“He’s really good, y’all,” Heppler said. “Looking at his skillset, it’s as good as we’ve had.”

And for Jim Ogletree, well, that’s unbelievable to hear. He grew up in the same small town. The Piggly Wiggly has been in the family business for nearly a century. His wife, Melissa, has worked as a first-grade teacher for the past 25 years, and she recently contemplated retirement.

“Probably now wishes she would have,” Jim Ogletree said. “Life is fixin’ to change.”

PINEHURST, N.C. – After Andy Ogletree won the U.S. Amateur on Sunday, his mother, Melissa, found Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler and made an uncomfortable admission.

“I don’t think he has a passport,” she said sheepishly.

That’s a problem, of course, with Ogletree automatically qualifying for the U.S. Walker Cup team by virtue of his victory. The Americans are set to leave in about a week and a half for the Sept. 7-8 matches at Royal Liverpool.

Which is in England.

Ogletree, who grew up in Little Rock, Mississippi (population: less than 2,000), didn’t even realize that he’d need a passport until he was asked about it by a reporter after his winner’s news conference. The only times he’s traveled outside the continental U.S. were to play in the Yellow Jackets’ events in Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

“Oh, that’s not good,” he said. “I’m glad you reminded me. I’ll get that done.”

Such requests can take months to process, of course.

“I know you can expedite stuff now,” Heppler said. “But I don’t know if you get it that fast.”

A USGA official, however, confirmed that the organization is “already on it.”