An Untimely Mistake Crowns a Second-Time Champion

The Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was in pristine condition this past weekend for the 104th edition of the PGA Championship. The seven-time Major Championship venue lived up to its history, delivering a second-time champion and an unforgettable ending.

The PGA Championship winner in 2017, Justin Thomas, now 29, claimed his second PGA Championship title on Sunday by defeating 25-year-old Will Zalatoris in a three-hole aggregate playoff. By far the most impressive shot in the playoff was when Justin Thomas drove the par 4 17th green with his 3 wood. This amazing tee shot would ultimately set Thomas up for a two-putt birdie, and he never looked back.

Tiger Woods had an unfortunate weekend, posting a 79–his second-highest career score in a major–in Round 3 after he successfully made the cut. Citing injuries, Woods withdrew from the fourth round and did not finish the PGA Championship. Here’s to hoping that his recovery from last February’s devastating car crash speeds up and we see Tiger back in contention again soon!

Thomas started Sunday eight shots back of the leader, Mito Pereira, and at the beginning of his round the Vegas oddsmakers gave Thomas, also known as “JT”, a 1.2% chance of winning the championship. The slim odds didn’t phase Thomas, he calmly navigated his way through his fourth round and posted his third 3-under-par round of 67 for the week. A clutch birdie on 17th (his second to last hole) catapulted Thomas to second place, one shy of Pereira in the lead.

The leader since late Friday, Pereira, a 27-year-old PGA Tour rookie, played fantastic golf through his second, third, and most of this fourth round. He stepped to the 72nd hole of the Championship with a one-stroke lead and his future in front of him, but ultimately the pressure was too great. He flared his tee shot into the creek that runs along the 18th fairway, which ultimately led Pereira to make a double-bogey 6 on the last hole. That pushed him down the leaderboard to 4 under par and caused him to miss out on the playoff between Thomas and Zalatoris. Afterward, Pereira managed the fallout of his historic and untimely collapse like a true professional, staying to chat with reporters without any negative comments about what had just happened to him. The golf world responded positively to his attitude and professionalism after experiencing such a devastating end to an otherwise outstanding weekend.

What’s in Justin Thomas’s Bag?

Thomas is not one to tinker much with his equipment, he has played most of the same setup for the 2021 and 2022 PGA Tour seasons. His last big win was the 2021 Players Championship, and the only changes he has made since March 2021 has been his driver head, fresh wedges, and his custom 1/1 JT Prototype.

• Driver: Titleist TSi3 (Mitsubishi Diamana™ ZF 60 TX Shaft) – 10 Degrees Loft
• 3-Wood: Titleist TS3 (Mitsubishi Tensei™ AV Raw Blue 85 TX Shaft) – 15 Degrees Loft
• 5-Wood: Titleist 915 FD (Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 Tour Spec X Shaft) – 18 Degrees Loft
• Irons: Titleist T100 4-iron; Titleist 621.JT prototype (True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Steel Shaft) 5-9 iron
• Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F bent to 47.5 degrees, 52-12F bent to 52.5 degrees, 56-14F bent to 57 degrees) & WedgeWorks (60-06k)
• Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 JT Prototype

A Look Ahead

We are now halfway through the PGA Tour’s Major Championship season, with two fan favorites winning the first half of the 2022 Major Championships: Thomas and Scottie Scheffler. Next up on the schedule is the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Brookline was made famous in 1913 when local caddie and 20-year-old amateur Francis Ouimet beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray to win the U.S. Open. Yes, that’s the same Ouimet that Shia LeBeouf played in the 2005 movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played.

If you have any questions about any of the gear that JT or any other competitor played this past weekend at the PGA Championship, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any of our other awesome Golf Experts here at Curated! Stay tuned for future coverage on the U.S. Open (June 16-19), the Open Championship (July 10-17), and the Presidents Cup (Sept. 20-25) in the fall!