x
Skip to main content
Golf Logo
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
The 8 best, most exciting ways the 2022 PGA Championship could end, ranked
SHARE
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Golf Logo
  • News
    • Latest
      • News
      • Features
      • Shows
      • PGA Tour Schedule
    • Series
      • Tour Confidential
      • Monday Finish
      • Hot Mic
      • Rogers Report
    • Shows
      • The Scoop
      • Subpar
      • Seen & Heard
  • Instruction
    • Game Improvement
      • Driving
      • Approach Shots
      • Bunker Shots
      • Short Game
      • Putting
      • Rules
      • Fitness
    • Series
      • Top 100 Teachers
      • Rules Guy
      • The Etiquetteist
    • Shows
      • Warming Up
      • Play Smart
      • Short Game Chef
      • Pros Teaching Joes
  • Gear
    • Clubs
      • Drivers
      • Irons
      • Hybrids
      • Fairway Woods
      • Wedges
      • Putters
    • Other Gear
      • Balls
      • Shoes
      • Apparel
      • Golf Accessories
    • Series
      • ClubTest
      • Winner’s Bag
    • Shows
      • Fully Equipped
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • Travel
      • Course Finder
      • Courses
      • Resorts
    • Lifestyle
      • Accessories
      • Celebrities
      • Food
      • Style
      • Betting Advice
    • Shows
      • Super Secrets
      • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Shop
      • Clubs
      • Shafts
      • Training Aids
      • Balls
      • Bags
      • Technology
      • Apparel
      • Accessories
      • Our Picks
      • Shop All
    • Collections
      • The GOLF Collection
      • The Birdie Juice Collection
      • The Fully Equipped Collection
      • Shop All
  • Newsletters
    • Sign Up for GOLF’s Newsletters
      • Hot Mic
      • Monday Finish
      • Play Smart
      • Our Picks
      • Top Stories
      • Sign Up for All
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Features
    • Shows
    • PGA Tour Schedule
  • Instruction
    • All Instruction
    • Driving
    • Approach Shots
    • Bunker Shots
    • Short Game
    • Putting
    • Rules
    • Fitness
  • Gear
    • All Gear
    • Drivers
    • Irons
    • Hybrids
    • Fairway Woods
    • Wedges
    • Putters
    • Balls
    • Shoes
    • Apparel
    • Golf Accessories
  • Travel & Lifestyle
    • All Travel
    • All Lifestyle
    • Course Finder
    • Courses
    • Resorts
    • Accessories
    • Celebrities
    • Food
    • Style
    • Betting Advice
  • Series
    • Tour Confidential
    • Monday Finish
    • Hot Mic
    • Rogers Report
    • Rules Guy
    • The Etiquetteist
    • ClubTest
    • Winner’s Bag
  • Shows
    • The Scoop
    • Subpar
    • Seen & Heard
    • Warming Up
    • Play Smart
    • Short Game Chef
    • Pros Teaching Joes
    • Fully Equipped
    • Super Secrets
    • Destination Golf
  • Shop
    • Clubs
    • Shafts
    • Training Aids
    • Balls
    • Bags
    • Technology
    • Apparel
    • Accessories
    • The GOLF Collection
    • The Birdie Juice Collection
    • The Fully Equipped Collection
  • Newsletters
    • Hot Mic
    • Monday Finish
    • Play Smart
    • Top Stories
    • Our Picks
    • Sign Up for All
InsideGolf Join Now  / Log In
InsideGolf
News

The 8 best, most exciting ways the 2022 PGA Championship could end, ranked

By: Josh Sens
  • Follow on Twitter
May 22, 2022
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share by Email
Justin Thomas tees off during his round on Saturday at the PGA.

Justin Thomas will start Sunday at the PGA Championship seven back to leader Mito Pereira, but is he already too far out of it?

Getty Images

Three rounds are in the books at the 2022 PGA Championship, and if you had Mito Pereira in your office pool, we hope you bought a Powerball ticket, too. Few pundits put the 27-year-old Chilean on their lists of pre-tournament favorites. But now here he sits, the 100th-ranked player in the world, first on the leaderboard heading into Sunday at Southern Hills.

Pereira’s strong showing, on a moving day when many bigger names moved in the wrong direction, was further proof that you never know what golf is going to give you. Anything can happen, and a lot of things still could. With a tightly bunched group of players still in the mix, let’s get to the hypotheticals. Here are eight of the best ways this year’s PGA Championship could end.

8. Matthew Fitzpatrick Closes Strong for the Win

A seven-time winner in Europe, Fitzpatrick has yet to break the ice on the PGA Tour. Which is not to say he hasn’t shined on U.S. soil. In 2013, the Englishman won the U.S. Amateur at The Country Club, in Brookline, which happens to be hosting next month’s U.S. Open. A win at Southern Hills would give Fitzpatrick a chance of going back-to-back in majors, on a venue where he’s come up big before.

7. Will Zalatoris and Cameron Young Go to a Playoff

Two of the finest young ball-strikers on the PGA Tour played collegiately at Wake Forest, a school with a Hall-of-Fame roster of alumni, topped by Arnold Palmer. Young already has three runner-ups this year, his rookie season. Zalatoris, the Tour’s 2021 Rookie of the Year, has four top 10s in his seven major appearances. Neither has a victory yet on Tour. If these Demon Deacons were to meet in a playoff, something would have to give. Either way, Arnie would be proud.

News
Mito Pereira of Chile and Will Zalatoris of the United States shake hands on the 18th green during the third round of the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club on May 21, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Here’s who will win the PGA Championship, according to our staff
By: GOLF Editors

6. Webb Simpson Completes an Epic Comeback

Not since 1958, when the PGA Championship switched from match-play to stroke-play, has a golfer who made the cut on the number gone on to win the event. Following a five-under third-round 65, Simpson, who slipped into the weekend by the skin of his teeth, sits in a tie for 10th heading into Sunday, eight shots behind Pereira. He’ll need a scorching round and some slip-ups from other, but it’s not out of the question. Making history makes great TV.

5. Abe Ancer Finds the Answer

In the modern age of brutes and bombers, the 5-foot-7 Ancer is never going to overpower his competition. He draws on something deeper to keep up. On Saturday, he did that and more, bettering his playing partner, Rory McIlroy, by four shots in a study-in-contrast pairing that showcased the grit and beauty of Ancer’s game. A win for Ancer would give fans an easy-to-root for, relatable champ, along with a reminder that even in an era that prioritizes distance, the little guys can still get it done.

Abraham Ancer hits driver during 2022 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
Could Abe Ancer be the player to make a run on Sunday? Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

4. Mito Pereira Perseveres

No player from Chile has ever won a major. But it’s starting to feel like just a matter of time. In the same season when his buddy Joaquin Niemann became the first Chilean to capture a PGA Tour title, at the Genesis Open at Riviera, Pereira has a chance to chalk up an even brighter victory for his country, in what would also be yet another celebration of golf’s global reach. Want to grow the game in emerging markets? There’s no better way than by giving fans a champ they can call their own.

3. Justin Thomas Wins Another Wanamaker

Thomas is not the best player to never win a major. But he might be the best one without a second. Given the difficulty of the conditions, along with his gift for shaping shots in the wind, JT has a chance to shed that label, too.

2. Rory McIlroy Roars Back

Which McIlroy will show up on Sunday: the world-beater with a bounce in his step who posted a sizzling first-round 65 to claim the lead, or the slump-shouldered golfer who has since slipped into a tie for 17th? The latter would put a charge into the crowd and give McIlroy a chance of bagging his fifth major, and his first since the 2014 PGA Championship.

1. Stewart Cink Wins One for the Ages

Last year, Phil Mickelson, at age 50, became the oldest man to ever win a major. And while he’s not around this week to defend his title, Cink, 49, could make it back-to-back PGA Championships for graybeards, while becoming the second oldest on that Centrum Silver list. And for Cink, it would be on the same course where he let the 2001 U.S. Open slip away in heartbreaking fashion.

Latest In News

10 minutes ago

Scottie Scheffler, hot drivers and 1990’s R&B: 50 thoughts on the PGA

35 minutes ago

Surprise PGA winners, Scottie's hilarious tweak, Rory's silence | Monday Finish

2 hours ago

Major champion apologizes for 'inappropriate' outburst at PGA Championship

2 hours ago

'Hard to process': Angel Cabrera, two years removed from prison, wins senior major

Josh Sens

Golf.com Editor

A golf, food and travel writer, Josh Sens has been a GOLF Magazine contributor since 2004 and now contributes across all of GOLF’s platforms. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting. He is also the co-author, with Sammy Hagar, of Are We Having Any Fun Yet: the Cooking and Partying Handbook.

  • Author Twitter Account

Related Articles

News
Scottie Scheffler, Ted Scott

Scottie Scheffler, hot drivers and 1990’s R&B: 50 thoughts on the PGA

By: Nick Piastowski
News
Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the first two major champions of 2025.

Surprise PGA winners, Scottie's hilarious tweak, Rory's silence | Monday Finish

By: Dylan Dethier
Fairway Woods
Scottie Scheffler and a close up of his 7-wood.

Scottie Scheffler gamed a 7-wood at the PGA Championship. Here's why you should too

By: Jack Hirsh
News
Wyndham Clark on Sunday at the PGA Championship.

Major champion apologizes for 'inappropriate' outburst at PGA Championship

By: Josh Berhow
News
scottie scheffler holds the pga championship trophy

Scottie wins! Stars sent home? The PGA answered these 10 questions

By: Josh Berhow
News
scottie scheffler tosses hat at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow..

Post-PGA Ryder Cup stock report: Who's trending up, down for Bethpage

By: James Colgan
Drivers
Scottie Scheffler hits a driver at the PGA Championship.

Scottie Scheffler wants more 'robust' driver testing. But it's not that simple

By: Jack Hirsh
News
scottie scheffler screams after hitting winning putt at the pga championship in navy shirt

After an emphatic PGA, Scottie Scheffler told the world his secret

By: James Colgan
News
Scottie Scheffler reacts after winning the 2025 PGA Championship

Even when there was doubt, PGA champ Scottie Scheffler had none

By: Josh Schrock
Sign up for GOLF's Newsletters
Get the latest news, the hottest instruction tips, new product releases, golf media insider reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. Choose your favorites now.
Sign Up
Categories
  • News
  • Instruction
  • Gear
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Services
  • Masthead
  • GOLF Media Kit
  • GOLF Magazine Customer Service
  • TERMS OF SERVICE
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Opt-out of Ads/Sharing
  • Your Privacy Choices
Social
  • facebook
  • x
  • instagram
  • youtube
Membership
InsideGOLF Logo
More than $140 Value for JUST $39.99

INCLUDES 12 SRIXON Z-STAR XV GOLF BALLS, 1 YR OF GOLF MAGAZINE, $20 FAIRWAY JOCKEY CREDIT - AND MUCH MORE!

LEARN MORE

© 2025 EB Golf Media LLC. An 8AM Golf Affiliated Brand. All Rights Reserved. All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you buy a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. Pricing may vary.

Go to mobile version