Thomas wins 2022 PGA Championship with gutsy final-round performance

It’s been a good year for the 2020 U.S. Team.

Just weeks after Scottie Scheffler’s maiden major championship win at Augusta, teammate Justin Thomas made it two-for-two, taking home his second Wanamaker trophy with a gutsy, come-from-behind playoff victory at the PGA Championship.

A strong 67-67 start left the 2017 PGA Champion in prime position heading into the weekend before windy conditions quickly reined in the field at Southern Hills. Thomas’s third-round 74 left him frustrated, seven strokes back heading into Sunday’s final round.

“When we played Friday morning, it was howling out of the south, and then yesterday it was cold and howling out of the north. That doesn't happen often, let alone in a major championship and at a place like this,” Thomas said. “It just brought out another side of everybody.”

For Thomas, that other side included a determined, back-nine push that produced three birdies, and a sudden shot at another major title. Right there with him was Will Zalatoris, playing in just his second PGA Championship, who leveraged birdie at 17 to propel himself into a three-hole aggregate playoff with Thomas.

Thomas would go birdie-birdie-par to put a cap on his epic comeback and collect his second Wanamaker Trophy.

“I just was walking up 18 in the playoff, and I knew it wasn't over,” Thomas said. “But I looked up and I wanted to take it in because you don't know when and if it's going to happen again, and it's such an unbelievable, cool feeling that you just want to enjoy it.”

Thomas’s win in Tulsa earned him a solid Rankings boost, bumping the two-time Ryder Cup star from 7^th to 2^nd, 550 points behind No. 1 Scheffler. Zalatoris rose one spot to the 3^rd position, while the largest jump of the week belongs to his former Wake Forest teammate Cameron Young, who jumped 36 spots into the No. 6 position. Kevin Kisner (4) and Dustin Johnson (5) round out the top 6.

U.S. Team Captain Zach Johnson first announced the 2023 qualifying structure in late February. All U.S. players will have the opportunity to earn points at select 2022 events, including major championships, while regular PGA Tour events will begin awarding Ryder Cup points in January 2023. Points are awarded as follows:

2022

- 1 point per $1,000 earned at the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- 1 point per $2,000 earned at THE PLAYERS Championship, WGC-Dell Technologies Championship, WGC-HSBC Championship

2023

- 1 point per $1,000 earned at regular PGA Tour events beginning January 1, including the Zurich Classic and WGC events, through the BMW Championship (August 20)

- 2 points per $1,000 earned for winner of the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- 1.5 points per $1,000 earned for all others that make the cut at the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open

- No points available at PGA Tour opposite-field events

Points qualification will conclude immediately after the second FedEx Cup Play-Off event (BMW Championship) on August 20, 2023, with the top six players on the points list securing spots on the U.S. Team.

The six remaining slots on the U.S. Team will be Captain’s Selections and will be announced by Johnson following the 2023 Tour Championship.

For a full list of the Top 100 in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings, click here.