Justin Thomas entered the last day of the 2022 PGA Championship seven shots behind leader Mito Pereira. At that point, you wouldn’t blame Thomas if he stopped hoping to claim his second major title. But the 29-year-old player never lost hope and it resulted in a memorable comeback win.
When golfers took the Southern Hills Country Club course on Sunday, it seemed like a battle between Pereira and Will Zalatoris, who was three shots behind, would determine the winner of the tournament. But both Pereira and Zalatoris started struggling towards the finishing line, allowing Thomas to move up the board.
Thomas’ ferocious comeback started with a birdie at the ninth and an impressive 64-foot putt on the 11th for another birdie. He then continued to chip away the lead from Pereira and Zalatoris to get a chance for 10 feet putt for birdie at the 18th. This led to a rare slip-up on the final day for Thomas, as he missed the putt and had to settle for par to finish five-under. Zalatoris also finished under five after par on the 18th, while Pereira double-bogeyed to slip to four-under and miss the playoff cut.
In the playoffs, it was Thomas who was calmer under pressure. He birdied the 13th and 17th holes and only needed par on the 18th to seal the win after Zalatoris missed a birdie on the same hole.
This was the second major trophy and second PGA Championship win for Justin Thomas. It is also his first win on PGA Tour in more than a year. His seven-under comeback is the biggest in the tournament’s history since John Mahaffey did the same in 1978.
