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:
Bogey for McIlroy
His saves around the greens are normally a strength of Rory McIlroy’s game but this time it lets him down. We mentioned his errant tee shot at the par-3 6th and his chip is sub-par, leaving him 20 feet for par.
He hits a good putt but it slides narrowly by and it’s back to -3 for Rory.
Mito Pereira tries to join exclusive list
The list of South American men’s major winners is a short one - consisting of just Roberto De Vincenzo (1967 Open) and Angel Cabrera (2007 US Open, 2009 Masters).
Those two Argentines could be joined by the first Chilean if Mito Pereira can convert his three-stroke lead into victory.
Pereira won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour (the second-tier American tour) last year to earn his PGA Tour card but this is obviously a different level.
Bubba tees off
Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson (-2) the first member of the pre-round top 10 to get underway at Southern Hills. He’s playing with Webb Simpson (-1) - another former major winner.
McIlroy misses the 6th green
Tee shot at the par-3 6th for McIlroy is right of the green but, importantly, it’s on dry land after he found the water on that hole yesterday.
The up-and-down for par shouldn’t be too stressful for Rory.
Rory McIlroy 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Three birdies in a row becomes four birdies on the spin for Rory McIlroy. He’ll have been targeting the par-fives ahead of his round and he takes advantage of the 5th.
His second shot ended up in the greenside bunker but a glorious up and down allows him to tap in for birdie.
From nowhere, he’s now at -4 for the championship. That’s into the top five and only two strokes behind second... He’s right on track to post a dangerous target.
Mito Pereira, Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick et al will not want to see a surging McIlroy storming up the leaderboard as they seek their first major...
Mito Pereira ready to defend his lead
Mito Pereira is about 40 minutes from his tee time. It’s only his second major and he has a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday.
That’s the sort of position that dreams are made of. Can he keep his cool and convert? One thing we can guarantee - there’ll be twists and turns along the way
Good start for Lucas Herbert
Lucas Herbert started his round at -1 but he birdies the 1st hole to climb to -2. A promising opening for the Australian, up into the top ten
Upcoming tee times
Within an hour, the leaders will all be out on the course. Here are the tee times to keep an eye out for and we’ll keep you across everything:
6:55 PM: Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson
7:05 PM: Stewart Cink, Justin Thomas
7:15 PM: Abraham Ancer, Seamus Power
7:25 PM: Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young
7:35 PM: Mito Pereira, Matthew Fitzpatrick
Three in a row for Rory
At what point do we say Rory McIlroy is legitimately in contention... Another par 4 and another birdie for McIlroy as he sinks his putt on the 4th green.
That’s three birdies on the spin, he’s up to -3 and that’s currently a tie for 6th. Still 6 strokes behind Mito Pereira but logic says the Chilean will be coming back towards the field today.
Smith makes early move
Cameron Smith is another man who was flirting with the top of the leaderboard earlier this week. He fell away with a Saturday 73 but he’s back to Evens as he birdies the 4th.
Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele are playing together and they both par the 1st to stay at Evens. Fleetwood then leaves a birdie putt short on the 2nd green, while Schauffele follows him in for par.
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