Justin Thomas produced a comeback for the ages to win the PGA Championship on Sunday, surging from seven shots down at Southern Hills to capture his second major title.
The 29-year-old American defeated compatriot Will Zalatoris by one stroke in a tension-packed three-hole aggregate playoff after a heartbreaking 72nd-hole collapse by Chile's Mito Pereira.
Pereira led all day only to hit his final tee shot into water en route to a double-bogey disaster at the 18th hole and hand Thomas the trophy.
"It was a bizarre day," Thomas said. "I was asked earlier in the week about what lead is safe, and I said, no lead. This place is so tough. But if you hit the fairways you can make birdies and I stayed so patient. I just couldn't believe I found myself in a playoff."
Not since John Mahaffey's seven-shot rally at Oakmont in 1978 had anyone made such a fightback to win the PGA Championship.
Thomas, who also won the 2017 PGA title, fired a three-under-par 67 in Sunday's final round and Zalatoris, last year's Masters runner-up, shot 71 to finish 72 holes deadlocked on five-under 275.
Zalatoris and Thomas each birdied the par-5 13th to open the playoff. At the par-4 17th, Thomas drove the green and two-putted for birdie from 36 feet while Zalatoris chipped to seven feet but missed his birdie bid.
At the 18th hole, Zalatoris missed a 40-foot birdie try and finished on one-under while Thomas two-putted from 26 feet, tapping in for par and the victory on two-under.
"We just tried to play the golf course for what it is, and this place is so tough," Thomas said.
Zalatoris settled for his fifth top-10 finish in eight major starts and a sense he's near a breakthrough.
"I can do it. I'm pretty close," said Zalatoris. "I battled like crazy today. I'm close and super motivated. We'll get one soon."
Pereira shot 75 to share third with American Cameron Young on 276.
"It's really sad to not be in the playoff," Pereira said. "I wasn't even thinking about the water. I just wanted to put it in play and I hit it too far right. I guess you have so much pressure in your body you don't even know what you're doing."
Thomas had issues as well, shanking a tee shot at the par-3 six but making a 19-foot bogey putt. "It was the best bogey I've ever made in my life, that's for sure," Thomas said.
While Pereira struggled, Thomas went on a birdie binge starting with a 12-foot putt to close the front nine. He holed out from 64 feet at the par-3 11th, sank a birdie putt from just inside 18 feet at 12 and blasted out of a bunker to inside four feet of the cup at 17.
England's Tommy Fleetwood, who had runs of four bogeys and four birdies in a row, shared fifth on 277 with countryman Matthew Fitzpatrick and American Chris Kirk.
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who began nine off the pace, made four birdies in the first five holes but never sank another and settled for 68 to finish eighth on 278.
Three-time major champion Jordan Spieth, who could have completed a career Grand Slam with a triumph, fired a 69 to finish on 284.
Second-ranked Jon Rahm, the reigning US Open champion from Spain, would have overtaken Masters winner Scottie Scheffler for the world No 1 ranking with a victory. He shot 68 to finish on 286.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
How to book
Call DHA on 800342
Once you are registered, you will receive a confirmation text message
Present the SMS and your Emirates ID at the centre
DHA medical personnel will take a nasal swab
Check results within 48 hours on the DHA app under ‘Lab Results’ and then ‘Patient Services’
Results
57kg quarter-finals
Zakaria Eljamari (UAE) beat Hamed Al Matari (YEM) by points 3-0.
60kg quarter-finals
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) RSC round 2.
63.5kg quarter-finals
Nouredine Samir (UAE) beat Shamlan A Othman (KUW) by points 3-0.
67kg quarter-finals
Mohammed Mardi (UAE) beat Ahmad Ondash (LBN) by points 2-1.
71kg quarter-finals
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) defeated Lalthasanga Lelhchhun (IND) by points 3-0.
Amine El Moatassime (UAE) beat Seyed Kaveh Safakhaneh (IRI) by points 3-0.
81kg quarter-finals
Ilyass Habibali (UAE) beat Ahmad Hilal (PLE) by points 3-0
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
