And what had been a dreary championship had its dramatic ending. With the once-slumbering crowd still jostling for position, Thomas and Zalatoris found the green with their approach shots, and the only drama left was whether the son of a longtime club professional could get down in two for the win. “I just was trying to birdie every hole I could.” “The leaders could have shot 3- or 4-under today, and like, I could have grinded and made a couple more birdies and look at the leaderboard on 18 and I’m four or five back,” Thomas said later. The crowd around the green, now fully invested in the goings-on, let out a collective groan. And he hit a brilliant shot to within 15 feet at the 18th to set up another birdie, only to watch the putt that in the moment he thought he needed for a playoff go skating past the hole. Thomas had rattled off a couple of birdies on the back side before an up-and-down for birdie at the 17th, moving him to 5 under and within a shot of the lead. Pereira’s shot into the creek off the tee on the 490-yard finishing hole led to a double bogey, not only robbing him of the most unexpected of major championships - and the $2.7 million winner’s purse, lifetime spot in the tournament and all the other baubles - but keeping him out of the three-hole aggregate playoff to decide the thing.