Late mistakes cost Thomas chance to repeat as PGA champion
ST. LOUIS — Justin Thomas didn't lose a whole lot of confidence after a threeputt bogey on the ninth hole. He rebounded with a couple more birdies to start the back nine and get back into contention for his second straight PGA Championship.
The real mistake came on the par-4 14th at Bellerive.
The defending champion had a wedge in his hands from 128 yards and dumped it into a greenside bunker. Thomas wound up making bogey from there, and then added another bogey a couple holes later, effectively ending any chances he had of going back-to-back.
"I don't really know what happened," said Thomas, whose 2-under 68 left him six shots back of winner Brooks Koepka. "I just shouldn't have ever been there. I should have had it inside 10 feet for birdie and, yeah, just kind of killed my momentum."
Thomas came into the week with plenty of momentum after winning a World Golf Championship at Firestone, and it never really abated. He opened with a 69 before a 5-under 65 thrust him into the mix. He added a 68 in the third round to leave himself with work to do on Sunday.
He had a chance, though. And it became a really good chance by the time he made the turn.
AUGUSTA BOUND
Stewart Cink is headed back to the Masters.
Cink last played Augusta National in 2014, the last of his five-year exemption from winning the British Open. He missed by one shot finishing in the top 12, which would have got him in the following year.
But with birdies on the last two holes, Cink closed with a 67 and tied for fourth with Jon Rahm.
The top four and ties from the PGA Championship are invited to Augusta National.
THOMAS PIETERS OUT
Thomas Pieters put together one of the best charges of the final round until he came to the 17th hole. He was 6 under on the day when his tee shot went right into the water, and then after a penalty drop, his next shot found the creek. His putt spun out of the cup for a double bogey. Pieters had to settle for a 66.
It was only his third top 10 of the year for the Belgian, who started the year at No. 36 and fell out of the top 50.
He managed to take positives out of a rough finish. At least he had a chance, and he hasn't been able to say that very often this year.
"It's a tough one to take," he said. "But then again, I've had a very, very rough year-and-a-half, and it's nice to play some good golf now. So I'm quite happy."
Pieters, who made his Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine by going 4-1-0, is so far back in the European standings that even a victory at the final major would not have been enough to get him among the top eight qualifiers.
EARLY RETURNS
Rafa Cabrera Bello and Tyrrell Hatton began their final round together more than three hours before the last group Sunday, so far out of contention that nobody paid much attention.
Until they came up the 18th hole with record-setting rounds in the crosshairs.
Both of the European Ryder Cup hopefuls made par at the last to shoot 6-under 64, one off the PGA Championship record, leaving each of them 9 under for the tournament. They were the leaders in the clubhouse much of the afternoon and wound up in a tie for 10th, seven shots behind Koepka's winning score.