TULSA, Okla. – Justin Thomas never gave in.
Not when he had to battle a cold and allergies before the first round began. Not when he got the worst of the draw the first two days. Not when his putter let him down in the third round. And not when he faced a seven-shot deficit entering Sunday’s final 18 holes at Southern Hills Country Club.
Make that the final 21 holes.
With help from Mito Pereira’s heartbreaking debacle on the 72nd hole, Thomas won the PGA Championship and his second Wanamaker Trophy in a three-hole aggregate playoff against Will Zalatoris, who was seeking his first PGA Tour title.
The 2017 PGA champion came storming home with four birdies in his last 10 holes in regulation to sign for a 3-under-par 67 to reach 5 under, then birdied the first two extra holes at the par-5 13th and par-4 17th and added a tap-in par on the par-4 final hole to defeat Zalatoris by one shot.
The 104th edition of the PGA also will be remembered for the brutal ending to Pereira’s Cinderella story. Playing in just his second major and first PGA, Pereira took a 3-shot lead into the final round, led by two with four to play and led by one shot going to the final hole.
Trying to become the first from Chile to win a major and the first PGA Tour rookie to win the PGA since Keegan Bradley in 2011, Pereira answered back whenever he faced adversity in the final round and never relinquished the lead.
Until the final 72nd hole.
After leaving his birdie putt on the lip on the 17th, Pereira drilled his tee shot on 18 into a creek on the right side of the fairway. After a penalty drop, he left his uphill third shot left of the green and needed three more shots to make a double-bogey 6 and miss the playoff by one shot.
