PGA Championship 2022: Justin Thomas beats Will Zalatoris in play-off after Mito Pereira double-bogeys 18th

Justin Thomas overturned a record-equalling seven-shot deficit before beating Will Zalatoris in a play-off to win his second US PGA Championship following a dramatic climax at Southern Hills.

Chile’s Mito Pereira held a one-shot lead on the 72nd hole after seeing his birdie putt on the 17th stop agonisingly short of the hole, but pushed his drive into the creek and ran up a devastating double bogey.

That left Thomas and Zalatoris to contest a three-hole aggregate play-off and Thomas birdied the 13th and 17th and parred the 18th to lift the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time, having started the day seven shots off the lead.

That meant the former world No 1 equalled the biggest comeback in US PGA history: John Mahaffey coming from seven behind Tom Watson after 54 holes to defeat Watson and Jerry Pate in a play-off at Oakmont in 1978.

Thomas had holed from six feet on the par-five 13th to match the birdie Zalatoris had made after finding the green in two, but Zalatoris missed from eight feet for birdie on the 17th after Thomas had driven the green on the 302-yard par four to set up a two-putt birdie.

Zalatoris then could not hole his lengthy birdie putt on the 18th and Thomas safely two-putted for par to get his hands on the Wanamaker Trophy for the second time, after his 2017 win at Quail Hollow.

Thomas had birdied the 17th in regulation and missed from 10 feet for another on the last, his third 67 of the week setting a target of five under par that only Zalatoris was able to match, with Pereira and Cameron Young four under and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood sharing fifth place on three under.

Fitzpatrick began the final round three behind Pereira and his chance looked to have disappeared as he followed a