Justin Thomas Wins the 2022 PGA Championship
Tulsa, OK – After the dust settled, Justin Thomas (-5) was left holding the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time, the second major championship of his career. He beat Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff to cap a somewhat unpredictable tournament and come-from-behind victory.
Thomas was one of the tournament favorites heading into the week but entered the final round seven strokes adrift of the lead, held by Chilean and PGA Tour rookie Mito Pereira. Pereira shot a disappointing final round 75 and finished T3 along with fellow impressive rookie Cameron Young. Young shot a pair of 67s bookended by 71s and looks a good bet to contend in more majors.
Pereira, who earned his promotion to the PGA Tour via 3 wins on the Korn Ferry Tour, has yet to win. He had a one shot lead heading into the 72nd hole but disastrously found the creek and made double bogey. Zalatoris looked nervy at times and brilliant at others. Despite not closing the deal, his major record remains incredibly impressive, considering his youth. He seems likely to seal the dealer sooner than later.
Other players who had notable weeks included Rory McIlroy, who got the golf world excited with his first round performance but fell back to earth and finished solo 8th at -2; Tommy Fleetwood who shot a final round 67 (joint-low round of the day with JT) and claimed a T5 alongside Chris Kirk and Matt Fitzpatrick; and Abraham Ancer who started the day two shots ahead of Justin Thomas at -4 but ended up T9 at +1 after a +3 73.
The weather and the golf course were two other major storylines throughout the week. The weather made for difficult and at times unpredictable conditions, going from windy to cold to relatively benign, oftentimes in short order. The golf course, a golden age design by Perry Maxwell recently restored by Gil Hanse, made a lot of headlines and some tour pros didn’t like it. It certainly wasn’t the comfortable birdie fest many players have become accustomed to. But it produced a worthy champion and some very entertaining golf.
Next week the PGA Tour heads to Colonial CC in Forth Worth, Texas for the Charles Schwab Challenge. Jason Kokrak is the defending champion and is set to defend against a field that includes Viktor Hovland, Sungjae Im, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, and Jordan Spieth.
Justin Thomas What’s In The Bag
Driver: Titleist TSi3 10° (Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60 TX)
3 Wood: Titleist TS3 15° (Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw Blue 85 TX)
5 Wood: Titleist 915 Fd 18° (Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 Tour Spec X)
Irons: Titleist T100 4 iron, Titleist 621.JT 5-9 (True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 46-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F, WedgeWorks 60-06K (True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 5 prototype
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