It was a poor week for the South African challenge in major championships this year as Justin Thomas came barging through to win his second PGA Championship title at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
With 11 players starting, it was disappointing to have only four making the cut. That was especially so given that the players all had major championship experience, although, in some case, it was somewhat limited.
In the event, two of those who made the cut – Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen – were major champions in their own right, and, in the end were the best performers. The other two who played over the weekend were Justin Harding and Shaun Norris, and they never managed to be in contention. In truth, making the cut for them was a good achievement in difficult conditions exacerbated by the pressure of playing in a major.
Oosthuizen and Schartzel each signed off with three-over-par 73, which saw them reach nine-over for the championship and a share of 60th. That was a yawning 14 strokes off the leading pair of Thomas and Will Zalatoris, who contested the three-hole play-off won by Thomas.
Harding and Norris had final rounds of 74 and 75 respectively as they finished the week on 12-over in a share of 71st.
