Justin Thomas heated at US Open 2022 golf tournament after not getting relief drop

Bryce Houston and Jake Adams, Louisville Courier Journal
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Storm drains and fairways.

Two things that plagued Louisville native Justin Thomas on Saturday on the fourth hole during the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open Championship.

The Country Club at Brookline has an interesting fairway setup on its fourth hole. There is a storm drain located in the middle of the fairway, in this case, right where Thomas' ball landed. Officials did not grant the 2022 PGA Championship winner a relief drop, forcing Thomas to reposition and make a difficult approach, causing his ball to end up in the bunker just ahead of the green.

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You can watch Thomas's NSFW reaction on Twitter here.

Golf rules: What is a relief drop?

Taking relief means that a golfers stance and swing are not affected by an obstruction. In this situation, some see the storm drain as an obstruction, but per the officials assessment the storm drain was not enough to impact Thomas' swing.

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Thomas ended the fourth hole with a bogey and fell to 2-over. He sits at tied 38 overall as of Saturday afternoon.

Has Justin Thomas won the US Open?

Thomas has two majors victories in his career, but neither has been at the U.S. Open. He won the PGA Championship this season for the second time, previously winning that major in 2017.

The U.S. Open has been arguably Thomas's toughest major on U.S. soil. In five appearances, he's finished in the Top 10 twice, including last year when he finished t-8 at 6-over. He missed the cut in 2019. The only major he's struggled worse in is The Open Championship, where he's never finished better than tied for 11th and missed the cut twice.

Thomas has done well this season in major championships. Along with his PGA championship victory, he tied for eighth (1-under) in the Masters.

Bryce Houston is a digital producer with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @B_ryce8. You can also follow assistant sports editor Jake Adams on Twitter @jakeadams520 for the latest on sports impacting the area.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: US Open 2022: Justin Thomas meets storm drain at golf tournament