Justin Thomas shows championship form again with 61 Saturday at The American Express

On Friday evening, Justin Thomas set an ambitious goal of reaching 30 under at The American Express. He was 12 under at the time, requiring a weekend birdie barrage in the Coachella Valley, but he figured it was doable and would mean a reasonable chance at victory.

The University of Alabama alum, though, didn’t anticipate the impending heroics of a certain Crimson Tide sophomore.

Thomas held up his end of the bargain Saturday, carding 11-under 61 at PGA WEST’s Pete Dye Stadium Course to vault up the leaderboard at The American Express. He stands 23 under, a score that leads into Sunday at most TOUR stops – or is within a stroke or two at least.

But then there was Nick Dunlap, who captivated the golf world Saturday with a third-round 60 at La Quinta Country Club. (The first 54 holes at The American Express are contested across three courses, with the final round played at the Stadium Course.) Dunlap stands 27 under into the final round, four strokes clear of Thomas.

The stage is set for a ‘Bama battle Sunday in the Coachella Valley, where suddenly Thomas, the seasoned veteran in contrast to Dunlap’s rising star, assumes the role of chaser.

“Didn’t think I was going to have to deal with a freakin’ college kid shooting 60 today,” Thomas laughed after the third round at the Stadium Course. “No, I’m obviously very proud of my round … It’s the good and bad thing about places like this. You can play well and hit a lot of good putts that don’t go in and shoot 3, 4 under and you can get lapped. But at the same time, you can get going and shoot 11 (under). Hopefully I have another one of those 11s somewhere in there for tomorrow.”

While the golf world readies to see whether Dunlap can become the first amateur to win on TOUR in 33 years, Thomas looks to quickly achieve a goal of winning on TOUR this season – and breaking a winless drought that dates to the 2022 PGA Championship.

At the very least, Thomas appears on the right track. Thomas, 30, arrived in the Coachella Valley on the strength of three consecutive top-five finishes worldwide, with the second-highest Strokes Gained average (per Data Golf) of any player’s last 12 rounds, behind Collin Morikawa. If he wasn’t all the way back from a well-documented slump (by his standards) where he missed last year’s FedExCup Playoffs, he was close.

Thomas has carried that form to The American Express, which he opened with a 7-under 65 at La Quinta Country Club and a 5-under 67 at PGA West’s Nicklaus Tournament Course before revving up Saturday, carding 11 birdies against zero bogeys – highlighted by a stretch of six consecutive birdies on Nos. 12-17 at the Stadium Course. That stretch vaulted him up the leaderboard – only Dunlap continued to rack up birdies (and an eagle) to keep the field at arm’s length.

Thomas is keenly aware of Dunlap’s bubbling stardom in the golf ranks – they’ve been in touch since Dunlap’s win at last year’s U.S. Amateur, and Alabama men’s golf coach Jay Seawell (with whom Thomas remains in close contact) is effusive in his praise. “He’s told me that (Dunlap) is the real deal,” Thomas said.

Thomas and Dunlap, though, have yet to share a round of golf. That is set to change in a big way.

“He’s a stud,” Thomas said. “I think how well he’s handled the big moments, and I think it says a lot about somebody, when it seems like the bigger the stage, the better he plays.

“It’s going to be as big a stage as he’s played on tomorrow. I’ve never played with him before; I probably would’ve preferred our first time in a practice round … it will be fun tomorrow, but it will be competitive as well. It will be a good time.”

The anointing of Dunlap could be fast approaching, but don’t count out Thomas either.