Justin Thomas knew what was going to happen. And he swung anyway.
Thomas' tee shot at the par-5 15th flew off the fairway, to the right and behind a tree. He had only a few options to advance the ball, including chipping out sideways or trying to hit a low bullet under the tree and out to the fairway. He chose the latter and an 8-iron as his weapon of choice.
Almost immediately after hitting the ball and despite his best efforts to defy physics, Thomas struck the tree with his club and it snapped in two.
Under Rule 4-3, Thomas was allowed to replace his club because it happened during the regular course of play.
Thomas went on to make par on 15, his sixth hole of the day, but a double-bogey 6 on the ninth to finish the round cost him a chance to make the cut.
