High five for Justin Thomas as he holds off Spieth and Leishman

The Justin Thomas story just keeps getting better and better and he did it this time by outgunning his good mate Jordan Spieth and Marc Leishman at the Dell Technologies Championship.

This was win number five for the PGA champion and he finished the four rounds at TPC Boston on 17 under and three clear of Spieth which was greatly helped by the 63 on Sunday.

Most of the fireworks came on the front nine. The trio were a staggering 16 under collectively for the outward half, Spieth bolting out the blocks picking up five shots in the first four holes, Leishman also turning in 30 after notching six birdies while Thomas was relatively pedestrian with just a pair of birdies and an eagle.

.@JordanSpieth… To 16 under in the blink of an eye. pic.twitter.com/qko4uLW7CM

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 4, 2017

The Aussie then hit the buffers with three straight bogeys while Spieth also sandwiched a birdie at 13 with a pair of dropped shots.

Thomas (66) pulled two clear with a precise approach to the 15th and made a brilliant up and down at the next after a wonky iron to the par 3 to stay two ahead.

Spieth looked to have got one back but his putt at the 17th somehow stopped turning and stayed above ground. On the previous hole he also came up two inches shy and, needing something spectacular at the 72nd hole, he could only take a six for a 67 which had promised much lower.

For the second week running it was a runners-up spot and his last six starts have been something else – W W 13 28 2 2.

Leishman’s race was finally run when he shoved his second to the 17th to drop a shot and he signed for a 70, out in 30 and back in 40, after another bogey at the last to slip back to third.

Dustin Johnson failed to do what he did in the final round last week as he stuttered out of contention with three bogeys on the front nine. European duo Paul Casey and Jon Rahm tied for fourth place.

5 wins including a major in a season before age 25, since 1960:

63 Jack
99 Tiger
00 Tiger
15 @JordanSpieth
17 @JustinThomas34

— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) September 4, 2017

As for the US Presidents Cup side Kevin Chappell overtook Charley Hoffman for the 10^th spot by 0.23 of a point.

Hoffman will now need one of two picks by Steve Stricker on Wednesday for Liberty National.

Chappell has had a few run-ins with the course; he has the course record after shooting a 62 in 2013 before then going from a tie for the lead on Sunday to 15^th place after dropping seven shots in his last seven holes.

“I was nervous and excited and unaware of what was going on. It’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone but I’ve also had to make a 4-footer to keep my job, and that was way worse,” Chappell said.

Presidents Cup standings

1. Dustin Johnson
2. Jordan Spieth
3. Justin Thomas
4. Rickie Fowler
5. Daniel Berger
6. Brooks Koepka
7. Kevin Kisner
8. Patrick Reed
9. Matt Kuchar
10. Kevin Chappell