Justin Thomas outlasts Will Zalatoris in 3-hole playoff to win second PGA Championship

TULSA, Okla. – Justin Thomas is a major champion when he least expected it.

Thomas matched a PGA Championship record on Sunday when he rallied from a seven-shot deficit at Southern Hills, and then he saved his most exquisite shot-making for a three-hole playoff to defeat Will Zalatoris.

Thomas closed with a 3-under 67, matching the low score of a final round made difficult more by nerves than the wind. He seized control in the playoffs with a 3-wood to 35 feet on the 301-yard 17th hole for a two-putt birdie.

He tapped in for par and stood erect with a smile, a mixture of joy and disbelief.

“I was asked early in the week what lead is safe, and I said, ‘No lead,’ ” Thomas said. ‘I can not believe I found myself in a playoff.’ ‘

There had not been a playoff in a major since the 2017 Masters, when Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose. The 19 straight majors without a playoff was the longest streak in major championship history.

Thomas needed plenty of help, and Mito Pereira provided it in a deflating finish. The 27-year-old from Chile, playing in only his second major, took a one-shot lead to the final hole and drove into a creek to make double bogey.

It was the first time since Phil Mickelson at Winged Foot in the 2006 US Open that a player lost a one-shot lead in the final hole to lose a major.

Zalatoris looked like he had thrown away his chances for a first major – and a first PGA Tour victory – when he three-putted from just outside 20 feet on the 16th hole. But he responded with a birdie from the bunker at the 17th and holed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th for a 71.

He joined Thomas at 5-under 275, and they played on when Pereira faltered.

Thomas, who had gone 14 months since his last victory at the Players Championship last year, now has a PGA Tour victory in each of his past eight years and moves to No. 5 in the world. Since winning his first PGA Tour title during the 2015-16 season, Thomas’ 15 wins are tied with Dustin Johnson for the most of any player.

And out of the 22 players to win multiple PGA Championships, Thomas, 29, is just the fifth to win the event twice before turning 30 years old.

John Mahaffey in the 1978 PGA Championship at Oakmont was the other player to come from seven shots behind on the final day. He also won in a playoff, over Tom Watson and Jerry Pate.

Thomas was still seven shots behind when he made his remarkable run, a mixture of key birdies and keeping mistakes off his card. It started with a 65-foot birdie putt from just short of the green to a back pin on the par-3 11th. He edged closer with an 18-foot birdie on the next hole.

He was lurking, while the leading pack behind him was leaking oil.

Zalatoris and Cameron Young each caught Pereira, ever so briefly. All of them found trouble in the rough and in the sand. Thomas nearly holed a long bunker shot on the 16th, made birdie from a left bunker on the reachable 17th and had a 10-foot birdie putt he thought he needed at the end.

He missed – and got a reprieve.

Pereira was on the cusp of becoming Chile’s first major champion – and giving South America the career Grand Slam.

Young, whose father is a longtime PGA professional, also will look back at missed chances. Playing with Zalatoris, a former roommate at Wake Forest, Young was in the mix all day and was briefly tied for the lead. His hopes ended on the 16th went he found a bunker right of the green, blasted out weakly to 30 feet and three-putted for a double bogey. He closed with a 71.

Matt Fitzpatrick of England, who played in the final group with Pereira, also stayed in range, two shots behind, until his sloppy bogey on the 17th. Fitzpatrick shot 73 and tied for fifth with Tommy Fleetwood (67) and Chris Kirk (68).

Rory McIlroy made a brief run with four straight birdies on the front nine, placing him at 4-under par for the tournament. He was 2 over the rest of the way and finished eighth.

In eight majors at Southern Hills, it was first time a player rallied from any margin to win, and it was only the second playoff. Retief Goosen won the other in the 2001 US Open after he three-putted from 12 feet on the final hole.

Thomas closed at 14-1 to win the PGA Championship at Caesars Sportsbook. His odds were as long as 28-1 entering Sunday’s final round.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.