MEMPHIS -- Justin Thomas wants to make his second stint as No. 1 in the world last longer than the first time around.
"I hope so," Thomas said Sunday after winning the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take the No. 1 spot for the first time since June 2018. "I feel like I'm a better player, and I feel like I'm more complete of a golfer now than I was then."
Thomas dueled with defending champion Brooks Koepka in the final holes, sealing the World Golf Championship victory on the par-5 16th. Thomas took the lead for good with his second consecutive birdie, while Koepka bogeyed the hole.
Koepka pulled within a stroke with a 39-footer for birdie on No. 17. But Koepka put his tee shot into the water along the 18th fairway on his way to double bogey, allowing Thomas to finish up an easy par putt for what wound up a three-stroke victory.
Thomas closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 13-under 267 and take his 13th PGA Tour title. At 27, he became the third-youngest player since 1960 to reach 13 PGA Tour wins, trailing only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.
"I've been fortunate to have a good career so far, but I plan on playing out here for a long time and have a lot of things that I still want to accomplish," Thomas said. "And every milestone and steppingstone is hopefully something that I can learn from and something that will help me even more in the long run."
Andrew Landry (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 2-under 68 on Sunday to finish 4-under for the tournament, nine strokes behind Thomas and in a tie for 30th.
The last time Thomas was No. 1, he spent four weeks at the top of the ranking. He will supplant Jon Rahm, who became No. 1 after winning at the Memorial two weeks ago but tied for 52nd this week.
Koepka will go to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco looking to defend his PGA Championship title, and he said he's feeling good about how he's playing. He finished with a 69 and tied for second with Phil Mickelson (67), Daniel Berger (65) and Tom Lewis (66).
"I thought I hit a good chip on 16," Koepka said. "I don't know what it did. Then another minute, I thought it was in for another second. So to make bogey there was disappointing. Obviously drained a big one on 17, and then you're down one. You've got to take an aggressive line on 18, so it is what it is."
Thomas made four birdies on the front nine. His 20-footer on No. 9 tied third-round leader Brendon Todd at 12 under.
Todd, whose putting had carried him through the first three rounds, three-putted for bogey from 23 feet on the par-3 eighth, leaving Thomas alone atop the leaderboard.
Thomas put his second on the par-4 12th into a greenside bunker near the back edge and chopped it out to the rough. He chipped out from an awkward stance to salvage bogey.
That created a five-way tie at 11 under with Koepka, Berger, Lewis and Todd.
Koepka took the lead to himself on the par-4 13th. He hit his approach from 133 yards to 10 feet of the pin, and Koepka sunk the putt for his third birdie of the round to go to 12 under.
After hitting his tee shot 321 yards to the rough 51 yards short of the hole on No. 15, Thomas hit to 6 feet for a birdie, tying Koepka at 12 under with three to play. Thomas found the rough far right of the cart path on the par-5 16th, then hit his third from the left rough 65 yards to 3 feet for his second consecutive birdie.
Koepka, in the group behind Thomas, tried to answer 42 yards from the hole. His shot landed close to the hole only to keep rolling to the back of the green. Koepka wound up two-putting from 8 feet for bogey.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Furyk wins in debut
GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- Jim Furyk turned 50 when golf was shut down and made the most of it when the PGA Tour Champions returned, closing with a 4-under 68 to win the Ally Challenge when Brett Quigley bogeyed his last two holes.
Furyk became the first player since Miguel Angel Jimenez in 2014 to win his first event on the 50-and-older circuit.
Glen Day (Little Rock) closed with a 71 on Sunday, finishing in a tie for 10th at 9-under for the tournament. John Daly (Dardanelle, Razorbacks) was even par for the tournament, and Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) finished 2-over.
Furyk finished at 14-under 202, and now heads to San Francisco for the PGA Championship. He earned a spot by remaining among the top 100 in the world.
LPGA
Kang outlasts Boutier
TOLEDO, Ohio -- Danielle Kang closed with a 2-under 70 at Inverness Club to win the LPGA Drive On Championship in the first LPGA Tour event in more than five months.
Kang and Celine Boutier of France turned the final hour into a duel, and they were tied when Kang made her lone bogey on the par-5 13th with a poor chip from the thick collar.
It was Boutier who blinked last. She missed a short par putt on the 15th hole to fall one shot behind, then stuffed her approach to 4 feet below the hole on the 18th. Instead of a playoff, however, Boutier made a tentative stroke on a tricky putt, and the ball caught the left edge of the cup and spun away.
Kang finished at 7-under 209.
Stacy Lewis (Razorbacks) shot a 75 on Sunday, finishing 16 strokes behind Kang.
KORN FERRY TOUR
Hot finish lifts Reeves
OMAHA, Neb. -- Seth Reeves won the Pinnacle Bank Championship for his first Korn Ferry Tour title, making a late eagle and birdie for a one-stroke victory over five players.
Reeves closed with a 7-under 64 to finish at 11-under 273 at The Club at Indian Creek. He eagled the par-5 15 and birdied the par-4 18th.
Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) finished in a tie for 11th with a 277. Nicolas Echavarria (Razorbacks) closed the tournament at 280, and Taylor Moore (Razorbacks) completed the tournament at 281.
