Who won the 2022 PGA Championship?
Justin Thomas has won the 2022 PGA Championship in Southern Hills in Oklahoma, and he had to earn the trophy via a playoff with runner-up Will Zalatoris.
Justin Thomas has won the 2022 PGA Championship by a hair after an extraordinarily rally brought him to a playoff against fellow American Will Zalatoris. A memorable event, as there had not been a playoff at a major event since the 2017 Masters.
Justin Thomas’ amazing comeback
The eventual champion started the day behind by eight strokes, then recorded a 3-under 67 in the first 18 holes to get back in the running. With this score he finished the round a shot behind Mito Pereira, who was leading at that point. However, the Chilean ran into major trouble at the last hole, when he hit the ball into the water and ended his round with a double bogey at four-under.
This disaster for Pereira also turned into an opportunity for Zalatoris, who then sank a 10-foot, 10-inch putt to equal Thomas in the last hole, forcing a playoff between the two Americans. Thomas won the exciting three-hole showdown by one stroke, after 75 holes in total.
Justin Thomas: One for the history books
Thomas is now only the sixth player in history to bounce back from seven strokes or more in a final round and eventually raise a major trophy. He is also the sixth player under 30 to tally 15 PGA Tour wins (including two major events) since World War II.
This is the second major victory of Thomas’ career. It is also the second time for him to lift the Wanamaker Trophy, which he bagged in 2017.
The American’s victory wraps up a PGA Championship which saw other players grabbing the spotlight- defending champion Phil Mickelson, who withdrew from the tournament following controversial statements that he had made; and legendary Tiger Woods, who pulled out of the competition after the third round following his physical struggles on the Tulsa course.