All of them found trouble in the rough and the sand and the greens. Zalatoris and Cameron Young each caught Pereira, ever so briefly.
He was lurking, while the leading pack behind him was leaking oil.
Thomas closed with a 3-under 67 that turned out to be enough for a playoff when Pereira, the 27-year-old from Chile in his first PGA Championship who never trailed all day, drove into a creek and made double bogey on the 18th hole to finish one shot behind. “I can’t believe I found myself in a playoff.” “I was asked early in the week what lead is safe and I said, ‘No lead,’” Thomas said. He never led until one hole remained in his three-hole aggregate playoff with Will Zalatoris.Īnd when Thomas tapped in for par to capture another PGA Championship title, he stood erect on the 18th green with a mixture of joy and disbelief. He missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole that he feared would cost him. He made a 65-foot birdie putt that began his record-tying comeback. He never could have dreamed how it all played out, a chaotic final hour of pressure moments, clutch putts and unimaginable heartache for Mito Pereira. (AP) - Justin Thomas didn’t pay attention to any score but his own Sunday in the PGA Championship, knowing he was seven shots behind but with only six players ahead of him on a Southern Hills course where anything could happen.
