Unfortunately, Mito Pereira’s heartbreaking collapse will be more remembered than Justin Thomas’s win.
Pereira stood on the 18th tee during the final round of the US PGA Championship, poised to make history. There has never been a big winner from Chile previously. Pereira, needing a par to win, sliced a tense drive into a water hazard; he has not yet won. A golfer with a handicap of 18 would have been appalled by the stroke.
Indeed, Justin Thomas won the 2022 US PGA Championship.
The double-bogey six committed by Pereira did not even qualify him for a playoff. Thomas and Will Zalatoris engaged in this activity after tying at five under par. This tournament was the slowest of the slow, but it was well worth the wait.
Thomas won the US PGA Championship for the second time. A superb drive to within 40 feet of the green on the par-four 17th, the second hole of the playoffs, proved crucial to the win. He had a one-point advantage against Zalatoris on holes 13, 17, and 18 in normal play, Thomas’s final 67 was four strokes better than Zalatoris’s.
To his credit, Pereira accepted all interview requests. “Today I was really nervous,” said the 100th-ranked player in the world. “I tried to handle it a little bit but it was really tough. I thought I was going to win on 18, but it is what it is. We’ll have another one.” Well done, sir.
Last updated on 23 May 2022 - 11:42
