Justin Thomas has been watching complete and utter domination from his college football team all fall. He will watch the Alabama Crimson Tide again on Monday night as they try to touch off the first 15-0 season in college football since Penn did it in 1897. Thomas apparently learned something from the unrelenting Tide.

"I don't know, I'm already a little nervous, but I'll be really nervous come Monday," said Thomas on Saturday night about his favorite squad. "But I'm confident in the Tide and I think with the preparation that they are doing, they will be OK if they play well and do what they need to do."

Thomas was talking about Nick Saban and Co., which will face Clemson, but he might as well have been talking about himself. He entered Sunday with a two-stroke lead over the hottest player in the world over the last three months, Hideki Matsuyama. He won by three as he finished at 22 under while Matsuyama finished at 19 under.

It wasn't quite that simple, though.

Thomas' lead swelled to five as the pair entered the back nine, but a chip-in eagle from Matsuyama at No. 14 combined with a costly double bogey from Thomas at No. 15 meant we had a one-stroke game coming home. Then Thomas hit the shot of the tournament on No. 17 with the entire week hanging in the balance.

He went on to make birdie and seal the deal on what was, despite a couple of hiccups, an assertion of his power up and down the coast of Maui all four days. Thomas led from the second round on and looked like he was in complete control for about 69 of 72 holes.

This is his first win on U.S. soil. His previous two came at the CIMB Classic in 2015 and 2016. With the win, he became the first two-time winner on the 2016-17 season.

"Changing things going forward because I know I'm coming back here next year," Thomas told Golf Channel after the victory which his pal Jordan Spieth stuck around to watch. "It's a great feeling. It shows where my game is out right now. I had some woes there the second part of the nine, but I stuck it out there at the end."

Thomas led the field in strokes gained tee to green and finished fourth in putting. The win, his third overall, catapults him up to No. 12 in the world, which is on par with the talent he exudes. It has become clear that the 23-year-old belongs in the conversation with some of the best in the game right now. The scary part for the rest of the PGA Tour? This might only be the beginning.

"I felt confident coming in," Thomas told Golf Channel. "I proved a lot. It's a great start to the 2017 year and hopefully just a sign of more things to come. "

As for the Tide on Monday?

"I did my part," said Thomas. "We're halfway there."

Grade: A+

Tournament of Champions Grades

Jason Day (T12): Day had not played a competitive tournament since back in September, so he was sort of a poor man's version of Tiger Woods this week. That is, just stay upright and try not to re-injure the back. That was the win for Day at Kapalua. He did that and more as he shot three 70s and a 69 on the week that was punctuated by an eagle on the 72nd hole of the tournament.

Day told Golf Channel after the week that as the No. 1 player in the world he expects more, but he has some good takeaways from this outing.

"I feel good about how the back performed," said Day. "Obviously taking three months off, having to rehab the back was obviously a long time to take off. To be able to walk around this golf course and play and hit off the awkward lies that we get, it didn't have an effect on me, which is great.

"Surprised with how I putted but for the most part, I think it was just a good, solid week. Obviously the expectation is high coming into this week. I'm coming into this week expecting to win, even though I did have a three-month layoff. Can't be too disappointed. I know there are a lot of positives that I need to take away from this week and I try and re-evaluate things after this week and work on the stuff that needs to be worked on and hopefully take it into Torrey." Grade: B

Hideki Matsuyama (2): Matsuyama certainly made it interesting at the very end before making a bad bogey on the 17th hole with a three-putt. His chip-in on No. 14 was one of the best I've seen from anyone in a huge spot in a long time. His ball-striking was, per the usual, on point. Matsuyama finished No. 2 in the field in strokes gained from tee to green.

Ultimately, Matsuyama lost it where he seemingly always loses it: On the greens. He was just No. 13 in strokes gained putting and wobbled a bit coming home on Sunday.

Still, in his last six starts, he has four wins. The only golfer to beat him is Thomas, and he did it at both the CIMB Classic and here in Hawaii. Grade: A+

Jordan Spieth (T3): Spieth posted the quietest T3 finish in the history of this tournament with a 65 on Sunday, which doubled as the low round of the day. I'm convinced Spieth is going to have a massive season, and this week did nothing to dissuade that idea. He had a triple bogey and two doubles earlier in the week which were his undoing, but he putted brilliantly (No. 3 in the field) and more importantly for him hit it great with his irons (No. 6 in the field).

"I think 26 birdies and an eagle this week, which is, certainly should be good enough on this course to win the tournament," said Spieth. "But unfortunately had a couple big numbers. When those birdies and eagles are there, that's a huge confidence boost. That means I'm able to convert, and the other stuff is actually easier to get rid of. The big numbers are easier to dial back, just be a little bit more consistent."

Grade: A