The PGA Championship always delivers and 2022 didn’t disappoint at Southern Hills in Oklahoma
Live betting online markets saw wild swings on Sunday, which resulted in Justin Thomas winning his second Wanamaker Trophy after being seven shots back entering the final round.
We look at all the storylines for the years’ second major, including the 72nd hole choke from the overnight leader.
Loyal Bettors Cash
Thomas had teased bettors for a while before breaking through for his second major championship.
The American never looked like he had a chance in the final round until he birdied 17 to put him one behind Mito Pereira, but he was still the sizable underdog at that point.
We locked in +1800 for Thomas to win, which was a value price for a form golfer. Golf betting markets weren’t giving Thomas much respect, despite being a past winner of the PGA Championship.
Thomas missed a birdie putt on 18 and he thought his chances were toast, but a late collapse from Pereira put him in a playoff against countryman Will Zalatoris.
The class and experience of Thomas shone through in the three-hole aggregate playoff, where he birdied the first two holes to set up a comfortable two-putt to win.
Thomas hit a shank in his final round but overcame an all-too-common nightmare for the casual golfer.
“I don’t know, it was a bizarre day. I definitely crossed one off the list,” Thomas told Golf.com. “I’ve never won a tournament before shanking a ball on Sunday.
“So that was a first, and, man, would I really like it to be a last.”
Thomas is at +1600 to win the Open Championship, which could be worth looking at for the July feature.
Growing Pains for Pereira
When Pereira teed it on 18, we had a sneaky feeling something bad would happen and we weren’t wrong.
Pressure does a lot to a golfer playing his first PGA Championship, let alone leading by one stroke with one hole to play. For Pereira, it ended in the worst possible way.
He produced his worst swing of the tournament off the tee, which resulted in the Chilean slicing it into the water. His lack of follow-through was that of a nervous golfer, and we don’t blame him.
However, he took little time to think about his game plan and we would have liked to have seen his caddy intentionally slow him Taking a 3-wood was the desired play, but he’ll learn from the experience.
What we took from his unfortunate flub was the way he handled himself with grace. He agreed to every interview and credited his downfall to his lack of birdies throughout the round, as opposed to his double bogey on the last.
Golf odds had Pereira at short odds to win with two holes remaining. He failed to make birdie at the easy 17th when leaving his putt just short, which would have all but secured him the victory.
We have little doubt Pereira will win on the PGA Tour soon, so he could be worth following.
Close Again for Zalatoris
Will Zalatoris has finished second in two majors, including the 2021 Masters and now the 2022 PGA Championship.
He is a quality player who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, so he could be the next Scottie Scheffler.
We feel that he only needs to win one tournament to start winning consistently, but another major placing is a step in the right direction.
Zalatoris owns five top 10 finishes at the majors, which is better than most golfers amass in their entire career.
He is another player worth sticking with and bettors often get value odds.
