Mito Pereira looked like he had the PGA Championship locked up on Sunday, but then he blew it on the 72nd hole of the tournament.
The 27-year-old golfer entered Sunday’s final round as the 54-hole leader at 9-under par. Mito’s great score was buttressed by an impressive 6-under 64 during the second round on Saturday.
But Pereira slowly started to see his lead dwindle on the final day.
Pereira shot 2-over on the front 9 and then was 1-over on the back 9 until arriving at the 18th hole. He was still in position to win until completely melting down.
Mito opted for his driver on 18, then had a weird followthrough and hit his drive into the water.
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Pereira ended up double-bogeying the hole to finish the round at 5-over par, putting him at -4 for the tournament. That was enough to drop him below Justin Thomas and Will Zalatoris, who finished at 5-under and went to a playoff to determine the winner.
This was Pereira’s first time playing in the PGA Championship and just his second ever major. To go down like that had to be crushing.
“It’s tough to finish like that,” Pereira said after his round.
