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:
PGA Championship - early movers
While no-one out on the course this early is likely to challenge for the title, they can give an idea of course conditions and what scoring might be like for the leaders later on.
Perhaps pleasingly for Mito Pereira, who defends a three-shot lead, he shouldn’t have anyone haring up from behind with scoring looking tough.
Of the eight men to complete their round so far, only Billy Horschel has shot under par - with a one-under 69.
And of the 50-odd players who’ve started their rounds today, only three are currently at two-under for it - Kevin Streelman (through 15 holes), Harold Varner (thru 6) and Talor Gooch (thru 5). Not good news for those looking to make up ground.
PGA Championship
Welcome to The Independent’s final-day coverage of the PGA Championship from Southern Hills.
There’s plenty of drama in store in Oklahoma as, barring something miraculous, we’ll crown a first-time major winner - which has become something of a tradition at the PGA Championship.
The top six names on the leaderboard are all going for a maiden major, with Chile’s Mito Pereira leading the way at -9. He’s three strokes clear of Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick, who he’ll tee off alongside at 7.35pm, and Will Zalatoris.
Cameron Young is a shot further back at -5, Abraham Ancer at -4 and Seamus Power at -3. It will be a huge task for anyone further back than that to turn things around and lift the Wanamaker Trophy at around midnight this evening.
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