Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you enjoyed the weekend!
Let's get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to...
JUSTIN THOMAS...
Justin Thomas now has two Wanamaker Trophies to his name, and this one came in historic, dramatic fashion. The 29-year-old American trailed by seven shots entering yesterday's final round, but through his own rock-solid play and shaky play by those in front of him, he erased that deficit and then topped Will Zalatoris in the three-hole playoff.
It ties the largest final-round comeback in PGA Championship history. John Mahaffey also came from seven back in 1978.Thomas fired a three-under 67 on Sunday to get to five-under for the week. Then came a long wait for the rest of the field to finish.Zalatoris made a clutch par putt on the 72nd hole to join Thomas as co-leaders in the clubhouse at five-under.Mito Pereira, the 54-hole leader at nine-under, led by one entering the 72nd hole but hit an ugly drive into the water and eventually made double bogey to miss the playoff by a shot.Thomas then came out on fire in the playoff, knocking a wedge to a few feet on the first extra hole, the par-5 13th, to match birdies with Zalatoris. On the second playoff hole, the par-4 17th, he drove the green and made another birdie to take a one-stroke lead to become the first player to birdie each of the first two playoff holes at the PGA Championship since the event moved to stroke play in 1958. Thomas finished with a straightforward par on the par-4 18th for the win.
The comeback was rare. So, too, was the emotion Thomas showed after he finally won, notes golf reporter Kyle Porter
Porter: "'I just think it's just so hard to win,' Thomas said when asked about the emotion afterward. 'Like, it is. I legitimately think it's harder to win now than it was when I first came out on Tour. ... I think it's easy to start letting some doubt creep in and just kind of [think], like, 'All right, what's going to happen? When is it going to happen? Is it going to happen?'"Yesterday, "it" happened, in a comeback for the ages.
... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
USATSIThe Warriors are one win away from yet another NBA Finals appearance, and they're getting contributions from up and down the roster. Golden State beat Dallas, 109-100, to take a 3-0 series lead last night.
Stephen Curry had 31 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to lead the way.Andrew Wiggins was outstanding with 27 points (including a huge dunk on Luka Doncic) and 11 rebounds as well as strong defense on Doncic (who still finished with 40 points).The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 47-33, and the points in the paint battle 46-34.Teams with a 3-0 series lead have a 146-0 series record all-time.The Warriors are far from perfect, but they are tough to beat because they capitalize on your mistakes. Miss a boxout? There's Wiggins or Draymond Green or Kevon Looney making you pay. Fall asleep on defense? Golden State has terrific passers, shooters and cutters. The Mavericks have been able to overcome their shortcomings this postseason with 3-point shooting, but with those shots not falling, the Warriors took full advantage once again.
