Justin Thomas endured what he called the most punishing round of golf in his memory at The Memorial Tournament on Friday.
The 33-year-old ground out a three-over par 75 at Muirfield Village, scraping through to the weekend right on the cut line.
"I can't put into words how hard that was," Thomas admitted afterwards. "That was the hardest round of golf that I can remember, major, non-major, it was just insane."
Winds gusting at 20 to 25 miles per hour kept shifting direction unexpectedly, leaving players guessing on shots over water with nowhere safe to bail out.
Justin Thomas hit Rory McIlroy's coin marker in an incredibly unlikely moment
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The average score on the day crept above 74.
Things got even stranger when Thomas's ball struck Rory McIlroy's coin marker on the green – for the second consecutive day.
"It's funny, it happened yesterday," Thomas explained. "My ball was directly in front of his coin yesterday."
The American had to mark and move his ball, then watched McIlroy miss his putt before moving his own marker back – only for the exact same scenario to unfold again.
"Then it happened today," he said. "It will never happen again in my career. It was nuts."
Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy shared a hug after their gruelling round
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The two-time major champion compared it to Will Zalatoris's ball landing on someone's coin a few years back.
When the pair finally reached the 18th green, they skipped the usual handshake and went straight for a hug.
"It was a mutual hug," Thomas revealed. "We just looked at each other and I think we both, we were like, we need a hug."
He reckoned McIlroy probably sensed he needed one more than most after such a brutal afternoon.
"It was a grind. It was a different grind for him, but, yeah, we were just battling out there," Thomas added.
McIlroy posted a 74 himself, with both players struggling to find any rhythm in the fierce conditions at Muirfield Village.
Justin Thomas admitted his secound round was a grind
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Thomas took to social media to express his amazement at J.T. Poston's stunning seven-under 65 on the same day.
"I don't think I can put into words how good J.T. Poston's round was today," he posted on X. "I'm out there trying to figure out where and how I can make ONE birdie, let alone shooting -7!"
The gap between Poston and the rest of the field was remarkable – the next lowest score on Friday was 69, a full four shots behind.
For Thomas, watching someone tear up Muirfield Village while he battled for pars probably made his own 75 sting even more.