TULSA, Okla.- Justin Thomas is a great champion when he least expected it.
Thomas equaled the PGA Championship record on Sunday when he recovered from a seven-shot deficit at Southern Hills, then saved his most exquisite three-hole playoff shot to beat Will Zalatoris.
He finished 3-under 67, corresponding to a low score from the last round, hampered more by nerves than by wind. He took control of the playoffs with 3 trees up to 35 feet on the 301-yard 17th bird hole with two strokes.
He joined in and stood up with a smile, a mixture of joy and disbelief.
“I was asked at the beginning of the week what lead was safe, and I said, ‘No lead,'” Thomas said. “I can’t believe I ended up in the playoffs.”
There was no playoff in the Masters in 2017, when Sergio Garcia defeated Justin Rose. The 19 consecutive major tournaments without a playoff were the longest in the history of major championships.
Thomas needed a lot of help, and Mito Pereira provided it in a weak final. The 27-year-old Chilean, who was only playing in his second major, took one shot to the last hole and crashed into a creek to make a double boogie.
It was the first time since Phil Mickelson’s Winged Foot at the 2006 US Open that a player lost a lead with one shot in the last hole to lose a major.
Zalatoris looked like he had lost his chances for his first big win – and first win in the PGA Tour – when he made three shots from just over 20 feet on the 16th hole. But he responded with a bird from the bunker on the 17th and completed an 8-foot ground on the 18th for 71.
He joined Thomas at 5-under 275 and they continued when Pereira shook.
Thomas, who was 14 months away from his last victory in The Players Championship last year, now wins the PGA Tour in each of his last eight years and moves up to No. 5 in the world.
John Mahafi at the 1978 PGA Championships in Oakmont was the other player to come back seven shots on the last day. He also won the playoffs over Tom Watson and Jerry Pate.
Thomas was still seven strokes behind when he made his remarkable run, a mix of key birds and avoiding card errors. It started with a 65-foot birdie kick from a little to the green to the back pin of the par-3 11th. He approached the next hole with an 18-foot bird.
Justin Thomas equaled John Mahafi in the 1978 PGA Championships in Oakmont as the only players to come back seven shots on the last day. Mahafi also won the playoffs over Tom Watson and Jerry Pate. Sam Greenwood / Getty Images
He lurked as the lead pack behind him leaked oil.
Zalatoris and Cameron Young caught Pereira so short. They all got in trouble in the rough and in the sand. Thomas nearly missed a long shot from a bunker on the 16th, made a bird out of the left bunker on the accessible 17th, and had a 10-foot shot with a bird he thought he needed at the end.
He missed and got a reprieve.
Pereira was on his way to becoming Chile’s first major champion and giving South America the Grand Slam of his career.
The biggest deficit of 54 holes in a big win
1999 OpenPaul Lawrie101956 MastersJack Burke Jr.82022 PGAJJustin Thomas71978 PGAJJohn Mahaffey71978 MastersGary Player71960 US Open Arnold Palmer7– ESPN statistics and information
Young, whose father is a longtime PGA professional, will also look back on missed opportunities. Playing with Zalatoris, a former Wake Forest roommate, Young was in the mix all day and briefly tied for the lead. His hopes ended on the 16th, he found a bunker to the right of the green, fired just under 30 feet and three-here for double-handedness. He closed with 71.
Matt Fitzpatrick of England, who played in the final group with Pereira, also remained in range, with two strokes behind, while his careless backgammon on the 17th. He shot 73 and tied for fifth with Tommy Fleetwood (67) and Chris Kirk (68).
Rory McIlroy made a short run with four consecutive birds in the top nine, which put him at 4-under par for the tournament. He was 2nd the rest of the way and finished eighth.
In eight major Southern Hills tournaments, it was the first time a player had come together from any advantage to win, and it was only the second playoff. Retief Goosen won the second in the US Open in 2001 after making three 12-foot runs on the last hole.
Six of the seven previous great champions in the Southern Hills are at the World Golf Hall of Fame. The 29-year-old Thomas, who already has two big wins among his 15 career PGA Tour victories, is sure to head there one day.
Thomas closed at 14-1 to win the PGA Championship in Caesars Sportsbook. His odds were 28-1 for entering the final round on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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