Tequesta’s Mito Pereira should use final round, and meltdown on 18th tee box, as learning experience | D’Angelo

Chilean golfer Mito Pereira, who now lives in Tequesta, leaves the green Sunday on the 18th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Pereira, who entered the fourth round with a three-shot lead, faltered and finished in a tie for third with Jupiter’s Cameron Young.

TULSA, Okla. — Mito Pereira had everything in his favor entering the 72nd hole of the PGA Championship. He held the lead outright or was tied the entire day. Twice he allowed the field to catch him and twice separated himself to jump back into the lead.

And his more recognizable, seasoned peers, most prominently Justin Thomas, could not execute that one shot that would have completely turned the momentum.

As it turned out, Pereira did that to himself.

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Pereira, the rookie from Chile who recently moved to Tequesta, entered the final hole needing a par for his first PGA Tour win of any kind. Then came a swing he will relive, maybe forever. Attempting to hit a low runner — a shot he says he’s “really confident with” — Pereira never finished the follow-through on the awkward shot that resembled a baseball swing more than a golf shot. The ball sailed right and landed at the bottom of a narrow creek.

With a career-defining victory now more difficult, Pereira needed a bogey to get into the playoff with Thomas and Will Zalatoris, both in a 5-under 275 for the tournament. His third shot landed in the rough and unable to get up and down, Pereira went from the top of the leaderboard into a tie for third with a 75, one shot behind the leaders.

“I wasn’t even thinking about the water,” Pereira, 27, said. “I just wanted to put it in play, and I guess I aimed too far right. I just hit in the water.

“It’s not how I wanted to end up this week.”

That shot opened the door for Thomas, a Jupiter resident, to finally collect that elusive second major. Admitting this year he had underachieved on golf’s biggest stages since winning his first major, the 2017 PGA Championship, Thomas birdied the second playoff hole and then guaranteed his second Wanamaker Trophy finishing the three-hole playoff two under par, one shot ahead of Zalatoris.

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Thomas snuck into the playoff by rallying from seven shots behind Pereira to start the day, matching the biggest comeback in PGA Championship history. He slowly narrowed the gap by equaling the low round of the day, 67.

Justin Thomas poses with the Wanamaker Trophy Sunday after winning the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Pereira’s meltdown may leave scar tissue, but chances are he will be in this position again. This is not a one-off for someone who had the longest current streak of 19 straight rounds of par or better entering the day. He has played in just 28 events and now has eight top 25 finishes, six this season.

“What he’s doing right now is what he’s been working on all his life,” said Joaquin Niemann, a fellow Chilean and one of Pereira’s closest friends. “He’s really talented, and he’s got the skills to win a major championship.

“You see him on the range, the way he hits the ball, the way he creates shots. He’s an amazing player.”

Pereira finished the tournament third in the field in strokes gained: putting, and seventh in strokes gained: approach the green.

But inexperience clearly made holding onto the 54-hole lead at a major a difficult task.

“I was really nervous,” Pereira said. “I tried to handle it a little bit but it’s really tough. I thought I was going to win on 18. We’ll have another one.

“You’re in such a stressful situation that everything can change. Just got to learn how to do it better. Keep training for it. … but was a tough day.”

And it was not just that tee shot on 18. Pereira was one roll of the ball on 17 from a birdie and two-shot lead, his 12-foot putt practically hanging over the hole.

Pereira and his wife, Antonia Prida, moved to Tequesta after being married last fall. Mito was looking for a place to hone his game and chose Palm Beach County over Jacksonville, with some urging from Niemann, who settled in North Palm Beach about four years ago.

“Great area, really good golf, great golf courses,” Pereira said. “Palm Beach is a great area to practice.”

Pereira’s tee shot on 18 cost him a payday that would have surpassed his career earnings by about $1 million. So instead of the $2.7 million winners share, he takes home $870,000, but that certainly will help.

“The only concern for him was moving to Jupiter when he just got his card it was a little bit expensive,” Niemann said. “But I think he’ll be all right now.”

Niemann lived and died with every shot from his buddy, standing just off the 18th green next to Antonia hoping to celebrate just as Mito was on the 18th green at the Genesis Invitational in February to greet Niemann after his second career victory on the tour.

Instead, they left disappointed, but certainly encouraged when looking at the entire weekend.

“I played really good golf (for) three days,” Pereira said, adding he got experience playing in the final group on a Sunday.

“I just didn’t hit it really well (Sunday). And for next time, I’ll just be a little bit more prepared.”

The next time, this experience at Southern Hills will benefit his game.

Tom D’Angelo is a journalist at the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Florida Network. You can reach him at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Justin Thomas wins second major after rookie Mito Pereira’s double bogey on 18