Standing on the 72nd hole, Mito Pereira needed only a par to win the PGA Championship on Sunday at Southern Hills. Then, disaster struck.
Pereira’s tee shot not only went way off-line but into the water.
Mito Pereira finds the water with his drive on the 18th. 👀 pic.twitter.com/TU9lYYbSfI
— GOLF on CBS ⛳ (@GOLFonCBS) May 22, 2022
Making a par was possible but wasn’t especially realistic. In one shot, Pereria’s focus shifted from winning outright to finding a way to make bogey to get into a playoff. It didn’t happen. After dropping his second shot, Pereira hit his third shot left of the green. He could have made par with miracle chip-in but misread the slope and missed the green entirely.
Mito Pereira ⛳️😬 pic.twitter.com/Cv01zqRgpe
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 22, 2022
His bogey putt to get into the playoff from the fringe did not go in. And while Pereira did regain enough focus to make a double-bogey, he missed the playoff by one shot.
Those watching the tournament had a lot to say about Pereira’s collapse.
Pereira simultaneously made this exponentially more exciting to watch, yet really, really hard to watch.
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) May 22, 2022
Pereira was an inch from taking a two-stroke lead into the final hole of a major championship. Now he’s not even in a playoff. Golf.
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) May 22, 2022
Man I feel so bad for Mito Pereira. Go from winning the PGA Championship to not even making the playoff. Sports are brutal man.
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) May 22, 2022
I feel bad for Pereira but what a collapse. He looked like he had it in control then brutal! #PGAChampionship
— Isaac Barry (@BarryIsaacb91) May 22, 2022
For those that don't know, Barkley used to be Pereira's swing coach.
— Matt Schaefgen (@MattSchaefgen) May 22, 2022
Pereira will be thinking about that drive for the rest of his life.
Brutal way to miss out on a major.
— Jeff Riger (@riger1984) May 22, 2022
Just an all time choke by Pereira. Brutal to watch.
— Rory Cooper (@rorycooper) May 22, 2022
It would have not only been Pereira’s major championship but first PGA Tour win of any kind. The 72nd hole was also brutal from a financial standpoint for Pereira.
Mito Pereira would have won $2.7 million if he got a par on 18.
His double bogey gave him a tie with Cam Young and a check of $870,000.
Loss: $1.83 million.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) May 22, 2022
It didn’t quite have the cringe factor of Jean Van de Velde in the 1999 British Open or Phil Mickelson at the 2006 U.S. Open. But what made those so excruciating is that both Van de Velde and Mickelson made multiple mistakes that could have changed their ultimate results. With Pereira, one stunning mistake completely changed his fortune.
