A year ago, Justin Thomas stood on the 18th green at Harbour Town Golf Links and made a 20-foot birdie putt in a playoff, ending a 59-tournament winless streak that had started to define him. This week, he came back as the defending champion, but after two rounds, though, he is at +9, last in an 82-player field, struggling on the same course he mastered last April.

The PGA Tour shared a video clip of JT trying to get his ball out of a tough bunker lie at the $20 million signature event. In the 30-second video, Thomas crouched nearly to his knees in a greenside bunker on the par-4 16th hole. The ball was buried in a pitch mark, and he couldn’t find a clean stance. The broadcasters watched as he got low enough just to make contact with the ball.

“He’s just trying to get down there and make any type of contact with this ball.” The broadcaster’s voice cut through: “Who says golfers aren’t athletes?” He escaped, and then the comments arrived.

The shot was legitimate. Harbour Town’s recent renovations, including the expansion of the 16th’s waste area by nearly 10 feet toward the fairway, have created these difficult, plugged lies. Getting the ball out from that position and then saving par requires a level of improvisation that most golfers do not possess. The Pete Dye-designed layout remains one of the tightest positional tests on the PGA Tour schedule despite measuring just over 7,200 yards, with doglegs, overhanging trees, and some of the smallest greens players see all season.

Yet, the RBC Heritage is one of the PGA Tour’s $20 million signature events played immediately after the Masters, where most of the sport’s top players make the short trip from Augusta to Hilton Head for what is often described as a high-stakes “working vacation” week on Tour.

Thomas arrived this week with three top-10 finishes in seven Hilton Head starts, as noted in previous assessments of his Harbour Town record. His title defense began with a 76, including a bogey on the first hole, a double on the par-3 15th, and a single birdie on 17. The second round was even less productive: another double on 15, bogeys across both nines, and no birdies in 18 holes. With greens averaging 3,700 square feet and a field GIR rate near 58%, among the lowest in professional golf, there is little margin for error here. Unlike most regular PGA Tour stops, the signature-event format also means there is no 36-hole cut this week, ensuring Thomas will play all four rounds despite sitting last in the field through Friday.

The same course that gave him a championship last April, as previous reports on Harbour Town’s history have noted, requires precision from tee to green in every round. That is the context behind the reactions.

Justin Thomas fans react to his viral bunker shot at RBC Heritage

Thomas himself later addressed the slow start himself on Instagram, writing, “As my grandpa used to say… Some days chicken, some days feathers. Well, feathers have been had!!!! Time for some 🐔 #golf,” referencing a phrase from his grandfather and longtime mentor Paul Thomas, who coached him early in his career. But fans didn’t take a similar humorous take on the situation.

“Golfers are athletes,” wrote one fan. With a second fan commenting, “Hell of a shot.”

“Seems like JT is in this kind of situation every tournament,” wrote another.

This comment pointed to a pattern: Thomas’s recent highlights are more about recovery than control, more about escaping trouble than avoiding it. Humor followed quickly, dominating the rest of the discussion.

“That was so stressful it’s going to affect his Whoop recovery score.”

The timing of the struggles is notable as well, coming during one of the Tour’s most demanding stretches immediately following the Masters, when players transition quickly from Augusta National to Harbour Town with little turnaround between two elite-field events.

Soon after, viewers commented on the appearance of the shot to a casual observer.

“Flexible? He looks 70 lol,” a person commented.

“Dude, just completed like 30 yoga moves in 30 seconds,” wrote one fan.

And, “Did he borrow his mom’s socks before starting his round?”

Golf fans can be harsh, but they are usually precise in identifying when a moment shifts from impressive to comedic. Thomas managed both in a brief span. In a week where the leaderboard offered little, the highlight reel provided its own commentary.