Justin Thomas birdied the first two holes of a three-hole aggregate playoff to win the PGA Championship for the second time, topping Will Zalatoris in the extra holes at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Thomas, who also won the major in 2017, began the day seven strokes behind leader Mito Pereira of Chile. He shot a 3-under-par 67 to finish at 5 under, a mark matched by Zalatoris (71).
Thomas and Zalatoris played Nos.13, 17 and 18 in the playoff. They both notched birdies on the par-five 13th and then Thomas went ahead with a birdie on the next hole. Thomas had a tap-in par at the 18th to clinch the championship.
Pereira, who led or shared the lead for most of the final two rounds, went to the 18th tee with a one-shot advantage. But his tee shot found a water hazard and he ended up with a double bogey and a final-round 75. He tied for third place with Cameron Young (71) at four-under.
Thomas' 67 matched the lowest round of the day. He went four-under a cross a nine-hole stretch concluding on the 17th, but he managed only par on his final hole.
Zalatoris, the 36-hole leader, made a clutch par putt on the 18th hole to stay tied with Thomas. Yet they were both a shot off the pace until Pereira faltered.
Pereira began the round with a three-shot lead, only to slip into a tie with Zalatoris before building his edge back to three strokes. Later, Pereira stumbled again and fell into a tie with Young at 6 under.
Young and Zalatoris, who were college teammates at Wake Forest and played in a final-round pairing, were doomed by mistakes on No. 16. Young was just one shot back when he took a double bogey. Zalatoris then missed a par putt from inside five feet for a bogey.
The final day didn't include Tiger Woods, who withdrew for the first time in a major in an announcement that came following the completion of Saturday's third round. Woods was 12-over and tied for 76th after the third round.
Elsewhere, Kiwi Ryan Fox endured a miserable final round - forced to settle for 54th place after holding a tie for 17th at the start of the day.
Hoping for a top 20 finish heading into the final round, Fox carded a seven-over score of 77, dropping 37 places.
Reuters
