PGA Championship: Justin Thomas claims second major, beats Will Zalatoris in play-off after ‘bizarre day’
- Thomas comes from seven shots behind, the greatest final-round comeback in the tournament’s history
- Victory came only after a heartbreaking last-hole collapse by Chile’s Mito Pereira
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Justin Thomas beat fellow American Will Zalatoris by one stroke in a three-hole aggregate play-off to win a tension-packed PGA Championship at Southern Hills for his second major title.
Thomas, also the 2017 PGA champion, roared from seven strokes back to match the greatest final-round comeback in the tournament’s history.
But the victory came only after a heartbreaking last-hole collapse by Chile’s Mito Pereira, who led all day only to end with a double-bogey disaster on the 72nd hole and squander the trophy.
“It was a bizarre day,” Thomas said. “I was asked earlier in the week about what lead is safe, and I said, no lead. This place is so tough.
“But if you hit the fairways you can make birdies and I stayed so patient. I just couldn’t believe I found myself in a playoff.”
Thomas fired a 3-under par 67 in the final round and Zalatoris, last year’s Masters runner-up, shot 71 to finish 72 holes at Southern Hills deadlocked on five-under 275.
Zalatoris and Thomas each birdied the par-5 13th to open the playoff. At the par-4 17th, Thomas drove the green and two-putted for birdie from 36 feet while Zalatoris chipped to seven feet but missed his birdie bid.
At the 18th hole, Zalatoris missed a 40-foot birdie try and finished on one-under while Thomas two-putted from 26 feet, tapping in for par and the victory on 2-under.
“We just tried to play the golf course for what it is, and this place is so tough,” Thomas said.
Not since John Mahaffey’s seven-shot rally at Oakmont in 1978 had anyone made such a fightback to win the PGA crown.
Zalatoris settled for his fifth top-10 finish in eight major starts and a sense he’s near a breakthrough.
“I can do it. I’m pretty close,” said Zalatoris. “I battled like crazy today. I’m close and super motivated. We’ll get one soon.”
Pereira, drove well right into water on the 18th hole on the way to a double bogey to tumble from the lead, shooting a 75 to share third with American Cameron Young on 276.
“It’s really sad to not be in the play-off,” Pereira said. “I wasn’t even thinking about the water. I just wanted to put it in play and I hit it too far right.
“I guess you have so much pressure in your body you don’t even know what you’re doing.”
The fate of Pereira, who missed the 2019 US Open cut in his only previous major, echoed the epic watery last-hole collapse of Frenchman Jean Van de Velde to lose the 1999 British Open.
“I was really nervous,” Pereira said. “I tried to handle it a little bit, but it was really tough. Sad to hit it in the water. I wish I could do it again.”
The 27-year-old from Santiago twice squandered three-stroke leads before throwing away his chance at the last.
Thomas had issues as well, a shank at the par-3 six salvaged only by a 19-foot bogey putt.
“I’ve never won a tournament shanking a ball on Sunday, so that was a first,” Thomas said. “And man, I would really like it to be a last.”
While Pereira struggled, Thomas went on a birdie binge starting with a 12-foot putt to close the front nine.
Thomas holed out from 64 feet at the par-3 11th, sank a birdie putt from just inside 18 feet at 12 and blasted out of a bunker to inside four feet of the cup at 17.
