- Justin Thomas rallied from seven shots down to win the 104th PGA Championship on Sunday.
- Thomas began the tournament with +1600 odds but drifted as long as +3600 entering the final round.
- Thomas defeated Will Zalatoris in a three-hole aggregate playoff to win his second Wanamaker Trophy.
Justin Thomas outlasted Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win the 104th PGA Championship on Sunday.
Thomas began the day with six players ahead of him on the leaderboard but a chaotic final hour of the tournament saw JT mount a comeback and win his second Wanamaker trophy.
JT Claims 2nd Wanamaker Trophy
Justin Thomas claims his 2nd Wanamaker Trophy 🏆
Thomas defeats Will Zalatoris in a playoff to win his second career major 👏 👏 👏#PGAChampionship pic.twitter.com/kL6CM3S5HA
— bet365 US (@bet365_us) May 22, 2022
The victory was not just the second career major for Thomas but it was also his second Wanamaker Trophy. It can be recalled that JT’s first major win was the 2017 PGA Championship where he shot a final-round 68 to beat Francisco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen, and Patrick Reed by two strokes.
And just like his 2017 win at Quail Hollow, Thomas’ signature shot came on the 17th hole which was the second of the aggregate playoff. JT hit a 3-wood on the 301-yard par-four 17th to within 35 feet of the hole and two-putted for birdie to gain his first lead of the round. Zalatoris meanwhile, choked and missed his 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th and could not catch up with Thomas in the end.
Sunday’s playoff was the first in a major golf tournament since the 2017 Masters when Sergio Garcia outdueled Justin Rose. Prior to last weekend, there had been 19 consecutive major golf tournaments without a sudden death finish which was the longest such steak in major golf championship history.
Comeback for the Ages
A comeback for the ages 🏆 @JustinThomas34 overcomes an 8-shot deficit to win his second @PGAChampionship in a playoff. pic.twitter.com/FBF8gEirB9
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 22, 2022
Five years ago, Thomas had to overcome a two-stroke 54-hole deficit to win his first major tournament. This time around, he had to rally back from a seven-stroke deficit after three rounds to win a second Wanamaker Trophy. After a solid 67-67 start in the first two rounds, the 29-year-old Thomas struggled in Round 3 and nearly threw away an opportunity to end his major drought. Entering the final round, JT had seen his opening odds of +1600 tumble to +3600 at the best golf betting sites.
Third-round leader Mito Pereira began the day at 9 under par and with a three-shot lead. Despite five bogeys over his first 14 holes on Sunday, the still held at least a share of the lead throughout the final round. Pereira held a one-stroke lead at the par-4 17th but he left his birdie put on the lip and then his tee shot at the 18th hit the water. Meanwhile, Thomas closed with a 67 while Zalatoris carded a 1-under 71 to match JT at 5-under 275.
In the playoffs, Thomas defeated Zalatoris in a three-hole aggregate playoff. JT played the extra holes in 2 under par while Zalatoris finished in 1 under par. With the victory, Thomas now has a tour win in each of the last eight years and moves up to no. 5 in the rankings. Since winning his first PGA tour title during the 2015-16 season, Thomas’ 15 wins are tied with Dustin Johnson for the most by any golfer during that stretch.
