Justin Thomas was one of the favorites heading into the 2022 PGA Championship, but he was considerably off the pace heading into the final round.

Thomas posted back-to-back 67s on the first and second days of the competition, but after a 74 in Round 3, he was just 2 under for the tournament after 54 holes. Mito Pereira, meanwhile, was leading the field with a 9-under par total.

As such, it looked like it was going to be extremely difficult for Thomas to work his way back into the event. However, as the young golfers atop the leaderboard — including Pereira — faltered, Thomas was able to rise. He shot another 67 and eventually moved into a first-place tie with Will Zalatoris. Thomas defeated the 24-year-old in a three-hole playoff to take home his second major.

How was Thomas able to make his comeback? He credited his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay for helping keep him grounded. He said he wouldn’t have won without a message Mackay delivered to him at the range on Saturday night.

On Sunday, Thomas wasn’t ideal. He bogeyed two of his first six holes, then he shot 4-under-par and had no bogeys over the final 12 holes.

Along with Tommy Fleetwood and Kevin Streelman, Thomas was able to minimize mistakes and recover from them to score the course’s best round of the day. Despite hitting his tee shot into the left rough on the first playoff hole, he went 2 under par across the three holes in the playoff.

So, despite his flaws, Thomas was more than capable of winning his second Wanamaker Trophy.