CHARLOTTE (AP) - Justin Thomas emerged from the shadow of a longtime friend and won the PGA Championship to take his place among the young elite in golf.
With two big breaks to start the back nine, a chip-in for birdie and a 7-iron that soared over the water to a peninsula green, Thomas closed with a 3-under 68 and won by two shots. The PGA Championship, Thomas's first major, was the most fitting major for the 24-year-old son of a PGA professional.
Mike Thomas, a former PGA board member and longtime pro in Kentucky, walked along the edge of the 18th green and into the arms of his son, a major champion.
The week began with Jordan Spieth's quest for a career Grand Slam. Spieth was at the 18th green late Sunday afternoon at Quail Hollow, but only so he could celebrate the moment with Thomas, close friends since they were 14.
"So awesome, dude," Spieth told him.
It was every bit of that.
With five players still in the mix in the final hour, Thomas surged ahead by chipping in from 40 feet on the par-3 13th hole, and holding his nerve down the stretch as his challenger eventually faded, one after another.
Hideki Matsuyama, bidding to become the first player from Japan to win a major, appeared to recover from back-to-back bogeys with two straight birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to get within one shot. But the championship turned on the 16th hole.
Thomas faced a 6-foot par putt to stay at 8 under. Matsuyama caught a good lie over the green and chipped to 5 feet. Thomas wasted no time over the putt and drilled it in the center of cup. Matsuyama missed and was two shots behind.
Thomas sealed it with a 7-iron from 221 yards that cleared the water and rolled out to 15 feet. The birdie putt curled in and his lead was up to three going to the 18th. A final bogey only affected the score.
He finished at 8-under 276, his fourth victory of the year.
Kevin Kisner was the last one who had a chance to catch him. But he three-putted from 100 feet on the 16th for bogey, couldn't birdie the 17th from long range and hit his second shot into the water and finished with a double bogey. Kisner, the 54-hole leader, closed with a 74.
Matsuyama also hit into the water on No. 18 and made bogey for a 72 to finish three back.
Louis Oosthuizen (70), Patrick Reed (67) and Francesco Molinari (67) tied for second, though none had a chance to win playing the 18th.
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6:30 p.m.
Justin Thomas sank a 15-foot putt on the 17th hole and has taken a 3-shot lead at the PGA Championship after Kevin Kisner followed with a bogey on the 16th hole.
Thomas is 4 under on the day and has a series of big shots, including a putt on No. 10 where his ball remained on the edge of the cup for 12 seconds before falling in and a chip in on No. 13.
He is looking for his first major championship.
Three players are in the clubhouse at 6 under for the tournament.
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5:15 p.m.
Tiger Woods has nothing on Justin Thomas.
Thomas' putt on the par-4 10th hole rolled up to the left side of the cup, hanging over the edge. Thomas briefly pointed for the ball to go in, then started walking away. After 12 seconds, the ball dropped in the cup for a birdie that lifted him into a tie for second place at the PGA Championship. He has since moved to the top of the leaderboard at 8 under with a 2-stroke lead.
Thomas walked away smiling, gave knuckles to his caddie and a tip of the hat presumably to the golf gods.
The shot was reminiscent of Woods' chip in the 2005 Masters, which hung on the edge before dramatically falling in.
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4:55 p.m.
England's Jordan L. Smith made the most of his first major, finishing at 1 under and giving him a chance at a top 10 finish at the PGA Championship.
The 24-year-old Smith, who grew up idolizing Justin Rose, shot a final-round 68 to cap his first professional tournament on American soil. He said his performance far exceeded any expectations he might have had coming into the event.
Smith earned his way into the last major of the year by winning the Porsche European Open earlier this year. He will earn an automatic berth in next year's PGA Championship if he finishes in the top 15.
Smith finished three shots ahead of another well-known golfer with the same first name - Jordan Spieth.
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4 p.m.
For the first time since Thursday afternoon, Kevin Kisner is trailing in the PGA Championship.
Kisner went at the flag with a fade on the par-5 seventh hole and it came just short, and into the water. He took a penalty drop, hit wedge about 18 feet by the hole and two-putted for a bogey. That put him at 6 under.
In the group ahead of him, Hideki Matsuyama two-putted for birdie from long range on No. 7 and moved to 7 under.
Trying to make a move on the back nine is Rickie Fowler, who made his third straight birdie on the 14th hole and was three shots behind.
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3:45 p.m.
Tiger Woods remains the youngest player to win golf's career Grand Slam.
Jordan Spieth closed out his run at Woods' record with a 70 in the final round, leaving him 2 over for the tournament and currently tied for 29th place. Spieth had conceded as early as Friday when he fell 11 shots behind leader Kevin Kisner that his chance of winning the PGA Championship was over.
[THIRD ROUND COVERAGE: Kisner survives wild finish to take PGA lead]
He played well for the most part on Sunday.
He had one blemish - a double bogey on seventh hole - in an otherwise bogey-free round that included three birdies.
[SECTION: 2017 PGA Championship page]
When Spieth competes in the PGA Championship next year in St. Louis, he will be older than Woods was when he earned the career Grand Slam at 24 years, 6 months old.
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3:30 p.m.
He won't win the PGA Championship, but Jon Rahm struck one of the more memorable shots of the week.
Rahm hit a backward chip on the par-4 18th hole and somehow landed it on the green.
He was in a tough spot Sunday when his second shot stopped in the primary rough near a stream, across the red line marking the water hazard.
The right-handed Rahm stood with his back to the green and swung the club backward with only his right arm.
The ball bounced four times before rolling 45 feet from the pin, drawing a loud cheer from the gallery.
He missed that putt, settled for bogey and finished at 3 over for the tournament.
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2:45 p.m.
Dustin Johnson, the world's top-ranked player, finished strong at the PGA Championship with a 4-under 67 in the final round. He finished the tournament at even par.
Johnson made seven birdies on the day and shot 32 on the front nine. The key for Johnson was making some of the shorter putts that he had been missing all week at Quail Hollow.
Johnson says his back is still a little tight, but he's not in any pain and plans to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs that start in two weeks as well as the President's Cup.
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2:45 p.m.
Rory McIlroy finished the final round of the PGA Championship with a 3-under 68 and was not sure when he is going to play again.
McIlroy ended another season without a major by revealing he has felt spasms from a muscle in his upper back the last few weeks. He says he has been practicing more than usual the last few weeks to get ready for the PGA Championship.
Now, he's not sure what he's going to do.
McIlroy said he might be in the FedEx Cup playoffs that start in two weeks. Or he might not play until next year. He wants time off to make sure it is fully healed. McIlroy says the only tournament that really means anything to him is in April - the Masters, the only major he hasn't won.
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2:15 p.m.
Hit fairway, win salad?
Chris Stroud says he prepared for the final round of the PGA Championship by watching one of his favorite movies, "Bull Durham," about a baseball team whose stadium had a wooden bull that snorted and a the sign that read, "Hit bull, win steak."
Stroud, the last player to qualify, was in the final pairing Sunday with leader Kevin Kisner and began the round one stroke back.
Stroud said before his round that he watched "Bull Durham" on Sunday morning. A day earlier, he paraphrased a line from the movie when describing how he didn't want to tinker with a hot streak.
The Durham Bulls, the real minor-league team portrayed in the movie, noticed and tweeted one of the cliche-packed lines delivered by Tim Robbins' character, "Nuke" LaLoosh, "I just want to give it my best shot, and the good Lord willing, things will work out."
No word on whether Stroud also would try to breathe through his eyelids, as LaLoosh was instructed.
He’s the son and grandson of PGA Professionals
Justin Thomas’ PGA Championship victory Sunday at Quail Hollow is simply the latest chapter in what is his family’s business: golf. Thomas became the eighth PGA Champion who is the son of a PGA Professional. His father, 57-year-old PGA Master Professional Mike Thomas, is currently the PGA Head Professional at Harmony Landing Golf Course in Goshen, Kentucky. Justin’s grandfather, Paul, is an 85-year-old retired PGA Life Member who lives in Columbus, Ohio. Paul joined the PGA of America in 1956.
First things first
For the third consecutive year, the PGA Champion yielded a first-time major winner in Justin Thomas. In 2015 at Whistling Straits, Jason Day claimed his first major, and last year, in 2016, Jimmy Walker broke through at Baltusrol.
20-20-20 Vision
A trio of 20-somethings claimed the season’s final three major championships: Justin Thomas (Age: 24/PGA Championship); Jordan Spieth (Age: 23/The Open); and Brooks Koepka (Age: 27/U.S. Open).
It was just a matter of time
Patrick Reed’s finish – a tie for second along with Francesco Molinari and Louis Oosthuizen – was the best finish of his career in a major championship. It was also Reed’s first top-10 in a major. Meanwhile, this was the fourth time that Oosthuizen finished with at least a piece of second place in a major (also 2015 Open; 2015 U.S. Open; 2012 Masters). The top-5 finish was the first of Molinari's career in a major championship.
Quail Hollow proves to be a major test
Twelve players at the 2017 PGA Championship finished under par, the fewest since the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National when only nine players ended the week in red numbers.
The closer
After dropping a stroke each at holes 11, 12 and 17 during round one, Justin Thomas played the back nine bogey-free over the final three rounds until his 72nd hole, when the Championship was out of reach.
No. 1 this week, No. 2 from Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky-born Justin Thomas joins 1964 Champion Bobby Nichols as the only PGA Champions from the state of Kentucky. Nichols, also from Louisville, defeated Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at Columbus (Ohio) Country Club in the 46th PGA Championship.
Twenty-something champs
Justin Thomas, 24, is the fifth twenty-something to win the PGA Championship over the past seven years. He joins Keegan Bradley (24, 2011), Rory McIlroy (23, 2012; 25, 2014) and Jason Day (27, 2015).
Historic comeback
Justin Thomas joined a short list for largest comeback following a round one position.
Another strong shower for club professional Omar Uresti on Sunday
2017 PGA Professional Champion Omar Uresti finished off a memorable week at Quail Hollow with a 2-over-par 73 on Sunday. Uresti, 49, was the Low PGA Club Professional at the 99th PGA Championship. He posted rounds of 74-70-80-73 to finish at 297 and in a tie for 73rd place. Uresti was the first PGA Club Professional to make the cut at the PGA Championship since Brian Gaffney did the same at Whistling Straits in 2015.
Savio Nazareth savors day as “playing marker”
Reigning Carolinas PGA Section Champion Savio Nazareth of Greensboro, North Carolina, served as a Playing Marker Sunday morning in the 99th PGA Championship for Charles Howell III. Nazareth, 38, got a call Saturday night while vacuuming the golf shop floor at Starmount Forest Country Club. A “playing marker” is a non-competitor in an event, who serves as the official scorekeeper for a Championship competitor. A rapid chain of events followed for Nazareth, a PGA Assistant Professional and a native of Tanzania. He got permission from his employer to travel to Charlotte, a 90-minute drive, and after several calls located his caddie, Andrew Westmoreland of Greensboro.
Nazareth, who competed in June in the 50th PGA Professional Championship, will be competing next week in the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship. With just a short warm-up on the practice range, Nazareth posted a 5-over-par 76.
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