Golf fans in hysterics at what Justin Thomas did after hitting 'unluckiest shot of the tournament' at The Open

The Open crowd erupted into laughter after what Justin Thomas did during his second round at Royal Portrush.

Thomas, who teed off with Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, carded a one-over-par round on Thursday.

He bogeyed the opening hole on the second morning but birdied the second to break even once again.

The American could have got himself under par on the par three third - but encountered possibly the biggest piece of bad luck of the week.

Thomas had a putt of around 15-feet that appeared to be curving left towards the hole.

However, it stopped short and balanced agonisingly over the hole instead.

Winds are expected to hit up to 15mph at the golf course over the course of Friday's second round, but they did little to help Thomas.

You can see the shot below.

A humorous moment then followed, as McIlroy and Fleetwood both stopped in their tracks to see if Thomas' ball wobbled in for a birdie.

It sadly didn't - even despite Thomas' best efforts to pull the wind in his direction, much to the amusement of the on-course spectators.

A former world number one, Thomas was long considered as one of the top prodigies in golf when he first turned professional and was a regular winner throughout the mid to late 2010s.

But he fell outside of the top 30 during 2024 in the midst of two disappointing seasons.

Now 32, the American won his first PGA Tour event in three years at the RBC Heritage in April.

In terms of the majors, two-time PGA Champion Thomas has missed the cut in five of the last 11 events, excluding the ongoing Open.

His position on Team USA for the prestigious Ryder Cup later this year is still not yet certain, though he currently occupies the sixth and final automatic qualification spot.

Speaking in April, he said: "It's a tough spot to be in, but it's also self-inflicted.

"It's a huge goal of mine [to play in the Ryder Cup again], but I feel like if I keep doing what I'm doing, and get in contention to win some tournaments and start winning some tournaments and majors, then it'll all take care of itself."