Justin Thomas matched the best last-day comeback in PGA Championship historical past on Sunday, roaring again from seven strokes down at Southern Hills to seize his second main title. The 29-year-old American defeated compatriot Will Zalatoris by one stroke in a tension-packed three-hole combination playoff after a heartbreaking 72nd-hole collapse by Chile’s Mito Pereira. Pereira led all day solely to hit his closing tee shot into water and launch a double-bogey catastrophe on the 18th gap and hand Thomas the trophy. “It was a weird day,” Thomas stated. “I used to be requested earlier within the week about what lead is secure, and I stated, no lead. This place is so robust.
“However for those who hit the fairways you may make birdies and I stayed so affected person. I simply could not consider I discovered myself in a playoff.”
Not since John Mahaffey’s seven-shot rally at Oakmont in 1978 had anybody made such a fightback to win the PGA Championship.
Thomas, who additionally gained the 2017 PGA title, fired a three-under-par 67 in Sunday’s closing spherical and Zalatoris, final yr’s Masters runner-up, shot 71 to complete 72 holes deadlocked on five-under 275.
Zalatoris and Thomas every birdied the par-5 thirteenth to open the playoff. On the par-4 seventeenth, Thomas drove the inexperienced and two-putted for birdie from 36 ft whereas Zalatoris chipped to seven ft however missed his birdie bid.
On the 18th gap, Zalatoris missed a 40-foot birdie attempt to completed on one-under whereas Thomas two-putted from 26 ft, tapping in for par and the victory on two-under.
“We simply tried to play the golf course for what it’s, and this place is so robust,” Thomas stated.
Zalatoris settled for his fifth top-10 end in eight main begins and a way he is close to a breakthrough.
“I can do it. I am fairly shut,” stated Zalatoris. “I battled like loopy right now. I am shut and tremendous motivated. We’ll get one quickly.”
Pereira shot 75 to share third with American Cameron Younger on 276.
“It is actually unhappy to not be within the playoff,” Pereira stated. “I wasn’t even fascinated with the water. I simply needed to place it in play and I hit it too far proper.
“I assume you could have a lot stress in your physique you do not even know what you are doing.”
The destiny of Pereira, who missed the 2019 US Open minimize in his solely prior main, recalled the epic watery last-hole collapse of Frenchman Jean Van de Velde to lose the 1999 British Open.
“I used to be actually nervous,” Pereira stated. “I attempted to deal with it a bit bit, nevertheless it was actually robust. Unhappy to hit it within the water. I want I might do it once more.”
The 27-year-old from Santiago twice squandered three-stroke leads earlier than throwing away his likelihood on the final.
“He’ll have the ability to be taught from it and be higher from it,” Thomas stated. “He performed unbelievable golf this week. There is no cause to hold his head.”
Thomas had points as properly, shanking a tee shot on the par-3 six however making a 19-foot bogey putt.
“It was the perfect bogey I’ve ever made in my life, that is for certain,” Thomas stated.
Whereas Pereira struggled, Thomas went on a birdie binge beginning with a 12-foot putt to shut the entrance 9.
Thomas holed out from 64 ft on the par-3 eleventh, sank a birdie putt from simply inside 18 ft at 12 and blasted out of a bunker to inside 4 ft of the cup at 17.
Spieth, Rahm properly again
England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who had runs of 4 bogeys and 4 birdies in a row, shared fifth on 277 with countryman Matthew Fitzpatrick and American Chris Kirk.
4-time main winner Rory McIlroy, who started 9 off the tempo, made 4 birdies within the first 5 holes however by no means sank one other and settled for 68 to complete eighth on 278.
Three-time main champion Jordan Spieth, who might have accomplished a profession Grand Slam with a triumph, fired a 69 to complete on 284.
Second-ranked Jon Rahm, the reigning US Open champion from Spain, would have overtaken Masters winner Scottie Scheffler for the world primary rating with a victory. He shot 68 to complete on 286.
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