Justin Thomas entered the 2022 PGA Championship as one of the event's favorites, but he entered the final round well off the lead.
Thomas shot back-to-back 67s on the first and second days of the tournament, but he found himself sitting at just 2 under for the event through 54 holes after shooting a 74 in Round 3. Meanwhile, Mito Pereira was leading the field with a 9 under score.
As such, it looked like it was going to be extremely difficult for Thomas to work his way back into the event. However, as the young golfers atop the leaderboard — including Pereira — faltered, Thomas was able to rise. He shot another 67 and eventually moved into a first-place tie with Will Zalatoris. Thomas defeated the 24-year-old in a three-hole playoff to take home his second major.
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How was Thomas able to make his comeback? He credited his caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay for helping keep him grounded. He said he wouldn't have won without a message Mackay delivered to him at the range on Saturday night.
Here's what Mackay said, according to Thomas:
You have to stop being so hard on yourself. You don’t have to be perfect. Keep staying positive so good stuff can happen.
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Thomas wasn't perfect on Sunday. He bogeyed two of his first six holes, but he was near-perfect over the final 12 holes, shooting 4-under-par and recording zero bogeys.
Thomas was able to minimize mistakes and recover from them to post the course's best round of the day, along with Tommy Fleetwood and Kevin Streelman. And in the playoff, he shot 2 under across the three holes despite driving his tee shot into the left rough on the first playoff hole.
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So, even though Thomas wasn't perfect, he was more than good enough to win his second Wanamaker Trophy.
