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Block: Justin Thomas Continues To Outshine Golf's Household Names

By Benjamin Block
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Aloha, Justin Thomas.

The sublime Hawaiian archipelago certainly agreed with the young golfing sensation, winner of the Sony Open on Sunday at 27-under. Along the way, he hung a record-shattering 72-hole score of 253 — the lowest four-day total in PGA tour history.

Days after championing the field at Kapalua, he unleashed more unrelenting drives, accurate irons and GPS-like putting at Waialae Country Club, highlighted by a score of 59 that delighted a saucer-eyed golf community.

"I have a chance to win a golf tournament every week. I don't have many chances to shoot a 59," Thomas said.

Not only was he the seventh player in history to record that rare number, but he accomplished it in the fewest rounds played on tour — 252, usurping David Duval's 391. At 23 years old, it also made Thomas the youngest ever to do it.

The millennial marvel has swept the first two events of the 2017 season with the same beauty and force that the island winds produce. So far in his 2016-17 campaign, he's won three times in the five tournaments that's he's competed in.

MORE: Block: PGA Tour's Youth Movement Is Only Getting Stronger

Shouts of "JT" have emanated from his galleries, which are increasing in sound and size, but it's his preferred nickname of "Radar" that more accurately depicts Thomas' jaw-dropping start to the season.

A coach gave the moniker to him when he was 9 years old because of his fearless attack on flagsticks. He even has "Radar" engraved on his wedges.

Thomas has put the golf world on notice. He's the latest to join the game's youth-driven unicorn era.

But let's not anoint him, at 23, an all-time great. True greatness is heavily measured by majors won, which begs answering: Is Thomas simply hot right now, or is he the next great golf superstar?

By his assurance, all indications point to the latter.

"I definitely haven't shown the world my best golf," Thomas claimed. "I haven't even shown the world great golf, or consistent great golf."

Certainly not the statement of an athlete just happy to win. Thomas sounds like someone with grandiose expectations, as opposed to a player riding a winning streak.

But the truth serum for Thomas will be more tournament experience and nerve-wracking situations against the world's best. That, and only that, will confirm or deny his intentions.

Aside from Tiger Woods, perhaps the lone American who can most closely associate to Thomas' meteoric rise is longtime friend Jordan Spieth.

"I felt like I was trying to win a tournament for second place," said Spieth, who played magnificently, only to finish in third at 19-under behind runner-up Justin Rose, at 18-under.

Despite the Sony Open featuring the PGA's first full field of 2017, Thomas still hasn't teed it up with Woods and Rory McIlroy — two golfers also tagged with the "prodigy" label early in their careers.

Neither Woods, whose season officially begins at Torrey Pines on Jan. 26, nor McIlroy, who played well in his first event of the year in the South African Open but lost Sunday in a playoff to Graeme Storm, have publicly acknowledged the ascending American.

Thomas is currently the No. 8 golfer in the world rankings and $2.3 million richer after his two weeks of work in Hawaii, but to continue his success, he'll have to avoid replicating Ernie Els circa 2003.

Els, like Thomas, started the season by winning both tournaments in Hawaii. However, "The Big Easy" would not win again that year.

While Thomas has to leave Hawaii, as the tour rolls into its California swing, he would certainly like to see his winning ways travel with him.

Follow Benjamin on Twitter at @benjaminblock21

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