Yahoo Finance Justin Thomas Wins 2022 PGA Championship After Playoff Showdown with Will Zalatoris
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Justin Thomas
For the second time in his golf career, Justin Thomas is the PGA Championship victor.
The 29-year-old pulled off an epic comeback to win the tournament at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday, clinching the trophy after a playoff with Will Zalatoris.
Both finished the fourth round at -5 on Sunday, the tie necessitating the playoff. Their shot at victory followed a devastating final hole for would-have-been first-time champion Mito Pereira of Chile, who lost his one-stroke lead with a double bogey. He ultimately ended in third place, tied with Cameron Young.
Thomas, who started his final round seven shots behind the lead, called the entire day "Bizarre."
"This place is so tough. I was asked early in the week what lead is safe, I said 'no lead.' I just stayed patient and found myself in a playoff," he told reporters, Sports Illustrated reported.
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Thomas won his first PGA Championship back in 2017.
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Will Zalatoris (left) and Justin Thomas
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Speaking to PEOPLE earlier this year about his 2022 performance, Thomas chatted about learning to be "a little selfish sometimes" as he tries "to do everything I possibly can to try to be the best golfer that I can be."
He said at the time that he was focused on practicing specific skills, balancing time between the course and the gym, and working on his mental fitness.
"Then once you get out there, it's just kind of getting engulfed in the process and just taking it one shot at time and not worrying about the future," he explained, "because really the only thing you can control or do anything about is the next shot."
