PGA Championship 2022 LIVE: Leaderboard & reaction as Justin Thomas beats Will Zalatoris in playoff
All the action from the final day at Southern Hills as Mito Pereira takes a three-shot lead into round four
Justin Thomas overturned a record-equalling seven-shot deficit before beating Will Zalatoris in a play-off to win his second US PGA Championship following a dramatic climax at Southern Hills.
Chile’s Mito Pereira held a one-shot lead on the 72nd hole after seeing his birdie putt on the 17th stop agonisingly short of the hole, but pushed his drive into the creek and ran up a devastating double bogey.
That left Thomas and Zalatoris to contest a three-hole aggregate play-off and Thomas birdied the 13th and 17th and parred the 18th to lift the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time, having started the day seven shots off the lead.
That meant the former world number one equalled the biggest comeback in US PGA history, John Mahaffey coming from seven behind Tom Watson after 54 holes to defeat Watson and Jerry Pate in a play-off at Oakmont in 1978.
Thomas had holed from six feet on the par-five 13th to match the birdie Zalatoris had made after finding the green in two, but Zalatoris missed from eight feet for birdie on the 17th after Thomas had driven the green on the 302-yard par four to set up a two-putt birdie.
Zalatoris then could not hole his lengthy birdie putt on the 18th and Thomas safely two-putted for par to get his hands on the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time following his 2017 win at Quail Hollow.
Follow all the reaction from an intriguing final day, below:
PGA Championship 2022: Justin Thomas beats Will Zalatoris in playoff after Mito Pereira double-bogeys 18th
Justin Thomas beat Will Zalatoris in a three-hole aggregate playoff to claim the US PGA Championship 2022, after a final-hole collapse saw Mito Pereira drop from leader to third.
The Chilean had led throughout the final day and was an inch from sinking a birdie on the 17th, before a wayward drive left him in trouble on the final hole and he unravalled as the pressure built.
Justin Thomas wins PGA Championship playoff after Mito Pereira double-bogeys 18th
A first playoff to decide the tournament’s champion since 2011 - after the leader throughout Sunday fell away at the last hurdle
Thomas wins the PGA Championship
Justin Thomas becomes the 22nd multiple winner of the PGA Championship.
Thomas wins the PGA Championship
Justin Thomas breathes a sigh of relief than embraces his dad on the 18th green. He holds back the tears. This is his second major tournament win coming five years after he won the PGA Championship for the first time.
Playoff: 18th hole
Justin Thomas wins the 104th PGA Championship!
The putts are knocked in and it’s the 29-year-old Thomas who triumphs.
Birdies on nine, 11, 12 and 17 during regulation play were enough to earn him a spot in the playoff and more birdies on the 13th and 17th won him the cup.
Playoff: 18th hole
Will Zalatoris is about 25-feet away from the hole. He wants to give it a chance and rolls it past the hole to the left leaving a few feet left for par.
Justin Thomas has two putts to win the tournament. Can he do it in one?
No he can’t. It trickles down the slope and finishes a couple of inches from the hole.
Playoff: 18th hole
Zalatoris is up first with his approach to the green. He fades it round the corner and lands just short before the ball kicks on and rolls back to settle on the first cut. He’s got a putt for birdie there though.
Justin Thomas goes one better and puts himself onto the green - four yards closer than he was earlier today. If he knocks that in, he’s the champion.
Playoff: 18th hole
What a drive from Justin Thomas. He drills it left-to-right, hits the right part of the fairway and leaves himself a nice angle to hit the green in two.
Will Zalatoris is slightly more conservative and hits a 3-wood straight down the middle. The ball runs away to the right but he’s got a better look at the green than earlier.
Both players in good shape.
Playoff: 18th hole
One more hole to go. It’s the 18th and it’s a tricky customer. Par for JT here may be enough to see him lift the trophy.
Will Zalatoris needs to pick up a shot. He may have to be the more adventurous off the tee.
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