Late birdies power Thomas to first career Major
Two spectacular birdies in the last six holes brought Justin Thomas his first Major title, the 14th-ranked American taking the PGA Championship on Sunday in a back-nine shootout thriller.
On a day that saw five players share the lead at one stage, Thomas fired a three-under par 68 to finish 72 holes on eight-under par 276 for a two-stroke victory over Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari and Patrick Reed.
“I knew no matter what my game was at I had to be patient,” Thomas said. “I knew I had the game to get it done. I just had to put it out there.”
Thomas rolled in an amazing 40-foot chip shot at the par-3 13th for a two-stroke lead and curled a 14-foot putt into the left side of the cup to birdie the par-3 17th for a three-shot edge, making a closing bogey all-but irrelevant.
“To make a birdie there was beyond a bonus,” Thomas said of 17. “And 13 was really special as well.”
Thomas, 24, claimed the Wanamaker Trophy and grabs the top prize of $1.89 million for his fourth victory of the season after last year’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia and two January events in Hawaii, the Tournament of Champions and Sony Open. World No 3 Hideki Matsuyama, trying to become Japan’s first men’s Major golf champion, led at the turn but had five bogeys and three birdies on the back nine to share fifth with Rickie Fowler on 279.
LAHIRI DISAPPOINTS
Anirban Lahiri finished the week on a disappointing note with a round of 78. Put alongside his earlier rounds of 72-73 and 76, he finished at 15-over 299 and in dead last position 75th.