Justin Thomas hits his second shot on the 18th hole at Sherwood Country Club on Saturday.
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Justin Thomas stood behind his second shot on the 447-yard, par-4 18th hole at Sherwood Country Club. He had to hit it across the 179 yards to the pin. He had to hit it over the water in front of the green. He had to hit it over a bunker on the right.
He had to hit it through Celine Dion singing “My Heart Will Go On,” that song from Titanic, you know, that “Neeeaaarrr, Faaar” song.
What.
One more time with that second paragraph.
He had to hit it through Celine Dion singing “My Heart Will Go On,” that song from Titanic, you know, that “Neeeaaarrr, Faaar” song.
What the?
As Thomas got ready to swing during Saturday’s third round of the Zozo Championship, Dion began to sing. A home near the 18th turned the speaker dial as far right as it would go. Then it dialed up the last stanza of the song.
You’re here, there’s nothing I fear
“And anybody that can hit a shot through Celine Dion music coming from one of the nearby houses, it’s big,” announcer Dan Hicks said on the Golf Channel broadcast.
And I know that my heart will go on
“Wow, that is Celine Dion,” analyst Paul Azinger said.
We’ll stay forever this way
Thomas swung.
You are safe in my heart
The ball landed 20 feet left of the hole. He would two-putt from there for a 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm.
“Maybe Celine lives out here, and that’s actually her singing,” said on-course reporter Jim “Bones” Mackay, who earlier this year caddied for Thomas for a few tournaments.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.