TULSA: 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 2nd primary identify. The 29-year-old American defeated compatriot Will Zalatoris by way of one stroke in a tension-packed three-hole mixture playoff after a heartbreaking 72nd-hole cave in by way of Chile’s Mito Pereira. Pereira led all day handiest to hit his ultimate tee shot into water and release a double-bogey crisis on the 18th gap and hand Thomas the trophy. “It used to be a odd day,” Thomas mentioned. “I used to be requested previous within the week about what lead is secure, and I mentioned, no lead. This position is so difficult.
“However in the event you hit the fairways you’ll make birdies and I stayed so affected person. I simply couldn’t consider I discovered myself in a playoff.” No longer since John Mahaffey’s seven-shot rally at Oakmont in 1978 had any person made this type of fightback to win the PGA Championship. Thomas, who additionally received the 2017 PGA identify, fired a three-under-par 67 in Sunday’s ultimate spherical and Zalatoris, final yr’s Masters runner-up, shot 71 to complete 72 holes deadlocked on five-under 275.
Zalatoris and Thomas each and every birdied the par-5 thirteenth to open the playoff. On the par-4 seventeenth, Thomas drove the golf green and two-putted for birdie from 36 ft whilst Zalatoris chipped to seven ft however ignored his birdie bid. On the 18th gap, Zalatoris ignored a 40-foot birdie attempt to completed on one-under whilst Thomas two-putted from 26 ft, tapping in for par and the victory on two-under. “We simply attempted to play the golfing path for what it’s, and this position is so difficult,” Thomas mentioned.
Zalatoris settled for his 5th top-10 end in 8 primary begins and a way he’s close to a leap forward. “I will do it. I’m beautiful shut,” mentioned Zalatoris. “I battled like loopy lately. I’m shut and tremendous motivated. We’ll get one quickly.” Pereira shot 75 to percentage 3rd with American Cameron Younger on 276. “It’s actually unhappy not to be within the playoff,” Pereira mentioned. “I wasn’t even interested by the water. I simply sought after to place it in play and I hit it too a ways proper. “I assume you have got such a lot force to your frame you don’t even know what you’re doing.”
The destiny of Pereira, who ignored the 2019 US Open lower in his handiest prior primary, recalled the epic watery last-hole cave in of Frenchman Jean Van de Velde to lose the 1999 British Open. “I used to be actually anxious,” Pereira mentioned. “I attempted to care for it slightly bit, but it surely used to be actually difficult. Unhappy to hit it within the water. I want I may just do it once more.” The 27-year-old from Santiago two times squandered three-stroke leads sooner than throwing away his probability on the final.
“He’ll be capable to be informed from it and be higher from it,” Thomas mentioned. “He performed incredible golfing this week. There’s no explanation why to hold his head.” Thomas had problems as neatly, shanking a tee shot on the par-3 six however creating a 19-foot bogey putt. “It used to be the most efficient bogey I’ve ever made in my existence, that’s evidently,” Thomas mentioned. Whilst Pereira struggled, Thomas went on a birdie binge beginning with a 12-foot putt to near the entrance 9. Thomas holed out from 64 ft on the par-3 eleventh, sank a birdie putt from simply inside of 18 ft at 12 and blasted out of a bunker to inside of 4 ft of the cup at 17.
Spieth, Rahm neatly again
England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who had runs of 4 bogeys and 4 birdies in a row, shared 5th on 277 with countryman Matthew Fitzpatrick and American Chris Kirk. 4-time primary winner Rory McIlroy, who started 9 off the tempo, made 4 birdies within the first 5 holes however by no means sank some other and settled for 68 to complete 8th on 278. 3-time primary champion Jordan Spieth, who can have finished a profession Grand Slam with a triumph, fired a 69 to complete on 284. 2nd-ranked Jon Rahm, the reigning US Open champion from Spain, would have overtaken Masters winner Scottie Scheffler for the sector primary rating with a victory. He shot 68 to complete on 286. – AFP